Kamal Ghorui
Six major US defence contractors on Friday agreed to sharply ramp up production of advanced weapons after a meeting with US President Donald Trump amid the escalating Middle East crisis.In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the companies had agreed to quadruple production of “exquisite class weaponry” to quickly raise US stockpiles.“We just concluded a very good meeting with the largest U.S. Defense Manufacturing Companies where we discussed Production and Production Schedules. They have agreed to quadruple Production of the “Exquisite Class” Weaponry in that we want to reach, as rapidly as possible, the highest levels of quantity. Expansion began three months prior to the meeting, and Plants and Production of many of these Weapons are already under way,” Trump said.“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. Regardless, however, we have also increased Orders at these levels. The Companies represented were the CEOs of BAE Systems, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace, L3Harris Missile Solutions, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon. The meeting concluded with another meeting scheduled in two months. States all over the Country are bidding for these new Plants,” he added.The meeting was attended by chief executives of major defence firms including BAE Systems, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace, L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and RTX Corporation.However, it was not immediately clear whether the meeting produced new agreements beyond production increases already announced earlier this year by the Pentagon.Those earlier deals included a multiyear agreement with Lockheed Martin to triple production of PAC-3 missiles and quadruple production of THAAD interceptors.Additionally, the Pentagon also signed multiyear agreements with RTX Corporation to increase production of key munitions including the Tomahawk, AIM‑120 AMRAAM, SM‑3 and SM‑6, with some of these systems set to double or even quadruple output.Meanwhile, the US Department of Defense also announced plans to invest $1 billion into a spinoff of L3Harris’s missile solutions business, which produces solid rocket motors and other key components for munitions. The company is planning an initial public offering later this year.Soon after the White House meeting, a spokesperson for Lockheed Martin confirmed the company had agreed to quadruple production of “critical munitions”, though further details were not disclosed.“As a result of President Trump’s leadership, we began this work months ago with [Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Deputy Secretary Stephen Feinberg], and are committed to strengthening the American military’s unparalleled capability,” the spokesperson said.A spokesperson for RTX Corporation also said the company is accelerating production of five key munitions under frameworks agreed with the Defense Department last month.Boeing confirmed its participation in the meeting but did not provide further details.The discussions come during the first week of US strikes on Iran, which have renewed concerns about US munitions stockpiles and whether sustained conflicts could strain supplies.Trump and senior Pentagon officials, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine, have repeatedly said current stockpiles remain sufficient.Trump reiterated in his post that the US has a “virtually unlimited supply of medium and upper medium grade munitions”, adding that orders for such weapons have also been increased.A follow-up meeting between Trump and the defence industry leaders is expected to take place in two months, the president said.
