On Saturday, August 8th, the Washington Post obtained a memo, written by Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, that urges munitions and weapons companies to rapidly increase their output. Specifically, he wrote that various companies had “21 days to submit plans” on how they will “drive significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules and/or increased production for critical capabilities.” The memo was confirmed to be real by Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell in a response to CNN: “The August 5 memo is real. It will inform the fiscal year 2028 budget submitted to Congress for funding, and it is entirely consistent with our ongoing push to rebuild the defense industrial base.”
This comes amid rumors within the White House that President Trump is upset, and is asking why the United States currently has such a short stockpile of munitions.The Washington Post has previously reported that the U.S. had fired off more than 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles against Iran, as well as more than 1000 Patriot missiles and THAAD interceptors.The Washington Post also cites a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) that says the current global inventory of Patriot missiles has fallen from 2,200 before the war to fewer than 827.
