The consumption of US weapons inventory intensifies, and Tru

On the 15th local time, US President Trump demanded that the country's military industry accelerate weapon production and expand production capacity. The Ukrainian crisis and the ongoing US Iran conflict continue to deplete the US weapons stockpile, exposing the weaknesses in the US defense supply chain.

 

At the Defense and Innovation Summit held in Pennsylvania that day, Trump told defense executives that the speed at which the United States produces weapons still needs to be increased.

 

The summit will be held at the US Army Military Academy from the 14th to the 15th, with senior military officers, defense company executives, investors, and technology company executives attending to discuss strengthening the defense industry foundation and accelerating the delivery of advanced weapon systems.

 

Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick announced over 30 investment and cooperation plans at the meeting, covering areas such as shipbuilding, artificial intelligence, robotics, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing.

 

In recent years, the United States has been selling a large number of weapons to its allies while continuously depleting its ammunition reserves in military operations, putting pressure on its core air defense equipment and precision guided weapons inventory. At the same time, the demand for engines supporting missiles and other weapons has significantly increased, forcing the US government to re-examine the military supply chain. Analysis suggests that Trump's statement reflects the US government's sense of urgency to expand military production.

 

The US government has recently requested defense companies to increase production multiple times. Trump had an emergency meeting with seven US military giants in early March this year to discuss production progress and plans to increase production; At the end of June, he met with ammunition manufacturers at the White House to urge them to accelerate production. On July 15th, the US Department of Defense announced the launch of the National Security Finance Fund, which aims to help companies fill the supply gap of critical minerals through funding and credit support.

 

Some analysts suggest that the Trump administration is incorporating the expansion of military production into the overall economic policy for the recovery of the US manufacturing industry, attempting to leverage Pentagon procurement demand to drive factory investment, advanced manufacturing, and domestic supply chain construction.

 

Michael Duffy, the official in charge of procurement affairs at the US Department of Defense, said at the summit on the 14th that the US Department of Defense is providing stable expectations for defense companies by signing long-term procurement contracts. US companies plan to invest approximately $20 billion to expand the production of high demand weapons such as Patriot missiles.

 

Duffy openly stated that the current international environment requires the United States to produce weapons on a larger scale, at a faster pace, and with higher output.

 

On May 21st, citing US officials, the United States reported that since the outbreak of the Iran conflict, it has launched over 200 THAAD missile interceptors, accounting for about half of its total inventory; More than 100 "Standard-3" and "Standard-6" interceptors were launched from military ships.

 

The analysis report released by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on May 27th shows that it will take at least three years for US arms contractors to replenish their inventory of Tomahawk cruise missiles, Patriot and THAAD missile defense system interceptors, which were heavily used in the Iran conflict.