Trump says defense giants will quadruple production of 'exquisite class' weapons after White House meeting
Who benefits from this decision?
President Donald Trump said Friday that during a meeting with defense executives they had agreed to increase production of what he called "exquisite class" weapons by four times as his administration looks to accelerate weapons production while military operations against Iran continue.
"Expansion began three months prior to the meeting, and Plants and Production of many of these Weapons are already under way," Trump wrote on Truth Social after the meeting.
"We have a virtually unlimited supply of Medium and Upper Medium Grade Munitions, which we are using, as an example, in Iran, and recently used in Venezuela," he said. "Regardless, however, we have also increased Orders at these levels."
OPERATION EPIC FURY DESTROYS IRAN'S NAVY AND CUTS MISSILE ATTACKS BY 90% IN ONGOING CAMPAIGN
Trump said the meeting concluded with executives agreeing to come back to the White House in two months.
The White House emphasized the session was scheduled weeks ago and was not convened in response to immediate battlefield shortages. Officials described the meeting as part of a broader effort to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and speed production of American-made weapons.
Companies in attendance Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX Corporation, Boeing, Honeywell, BAE Systems and L3Harris Technologies.
The meeting comes as U.S. forces remain engaged in Operation Epic Fury, a campaign targeting Iranian military assets following coordinated U.S.-Israeli strikes. Administration officials have maintained that U.S. readiness remains strong, even as the pace of missile defense operations has drawn scrutiny on Capitol Hill.
During the 2025 12-day Iran conflict, U.S. forces fired more than 150 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors — roughly a quarter of the global inventory — to shield Israel and U.S. assets from Iranian missile attacks, according to defense assessments. Patriot PAC-3 MSE missiles are currently produced at a rate of roughly 600 to 650 annually, with replenishment timelines measured in months or years rather than weeks.
PHYSICIST LAWMAKER WARNS IRAN COULD BUILD ‘HIROSHIMA-STYLE’ WEAPON, SAYS US LACKS URANIUM PLAN
U.S. and Israeli officials previously estimated that Iran had a large ballistic missile arsenal — roughly 2,000 to 3,000 missiles of various types at the outset of the conflict. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper said Thursday Iran's missile attacks have decreased 90% since the start of the conflict.
Defense planners have described missile defense inventories as part of a broader strategic balancing act. The same …
Who benefits from this decision?
President Donald Trump said Friday that during a meeting with defense executives they had agreed to increase production of what he called "exquisite class" weapons by four times as his administration looks to accelerate weapons production while military operations against Iran continue.
"Expansion began three months prior to the meeting, and Plants and Production of many of these Weapons are already under way," Trump wrote on Truth Social after the meeting.
"We have a virtually unlimited supply of Medium and Upper Medium Grade Munitions, which we are using, as an example, in Iran, and recently used in Venezuela," he said. "Regardless, however, we have also increased Orders at these levels."
OPERATION EPIC FURY DESTROYS IRAN'S NAVY AND CUTS MISSILE ATTACKS BY 90% IN ONGOING CAMPAIGN
Trump said the meeting concluded with executives agreeing to come back to the White House in two months.
The White House emphasized the session was scheduled weeks ago and was not convened in response to immediate battlefield shortages. Officials described the meeting as part of a broader effort to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and speed production of American-made weapons.
Companies in attendance Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX Corporation, Boeing, Honeywell, BAE Systems and L3Harris Technologies.
The meeting comes as U.S. forces remain engaged in Operation Epic Fury, a campaign targeting Iranian military assets following coordinated U.S.-Israeli strikes. Administration officials have maintained that U.S. readiness remains strong, even as the pace of missile defense operations has drawn scrutiny on Capitol Hill.
During the 2025 12-day Iran conflict, U.S. forces fired more than 150 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors — roughly a quarter of the global inventory — to shield Israel and U.S. assets from Iranian missile attacks, according to defense assessments. Patriot PAC-3 MSE missiles are currently produced at a rate of roughly 600 to 650 annually, with replenishment timelines measured in months or years rather than weeks.
PHYSICIST LAWMAKER WARNS IRAN COULD BUILD ‘HIROSHIMA-STYLE’ WEAPON, SAYS US LACKS URANIUM PLAN
U.S. and Israeli officials previously estimated that Iran had a large ballistic missile arsenal — roughly 2,000 to 3,000 missiles of various types at the outset of the conflict. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper said Thursday Iran's missile attacks have decreased 90% since the start of the conflict.
Defense planners have described missile defense inventories as part of a broader strategic balancing act. The same …
Trump says defense giants will quadruple production of 'exquisite class' weapons after White House meeting
Who benefits from this decision?
President Donald Trump said Friday that during a meeting with defense executives they had agreed to increase production of what he called "exquisite class" weapons by four times as his administration looks to accelerate weapons production while military operations against Iran continue.
"Expansion began three months prior to the meeting, and Plants and Production of many of these Weapons are already under way," Trump wrote on Truth Social after the meeting.
"We have a virtually unlimited supply of Medium and Upper Medium Grade Munitions, which we are using, as an example, in Iran, and recently used in Venezuela," he said. "Regardless, however, we have also increased Orders at these levels."
OPERATION EPIC FURY DESTROYS IRAN'S NAVY AND CUTS MISSILE ATTACKS BY 90% IN ONGOING CAMPAIGN
Trump said the meeting concluded with executives agreeing to come back to the White House in two months.
The White House emphasized the session was scheduled weeks ago and was not convened in response to immediate battlefield shortages. Officials described the meeting as part of a broader effort to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and speed production of American-made weapons.
Companies in attendance Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX Corporation, Boeing, Honeywell, BAE Systems and L3Harris Technologies.
The meeting comes as U.S. forces remain engaged in Operation Epic Fury, a campaign targeting Iranian military assets following coordinated U.S.-Israeli strikes. Administration officials have maintained that U.S. readiness remains strong, even as the pace of missile defense operations has drawn scrutiny on Capitol Hill.
During the 2025 12-day Iran conflict, U.S. forces fired more than 150 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors — roughly a quarter of the global inventory — to shield Israel and U.S. assets from Iranian missile attacks, according to defense assessments. Patriot PAC-3 MSE missiles are currently produced at a rate of roughly 600 to 650 annually, with replenishment timelines measured in months or years rather than weeks.
PHYSICIST LAWMAKER WARNS IRAN COULD BUILD ‘HIROSHIMA-STYLE’ WEAPON, SAYS US LACKS URANIUM PLAN
U.S. and Israeli officials previously estimated that Iran had a large ballistic missile arsenal — roughly 2,000 to 3,000 missiles of various types at the outset of the conflict. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper said Thursday Iran's missile attacks have decreased 90% since the start of the conflict.
Defense planners have described missile defense inventories as part of a broader strategic balancing act. The same …
