WASHINGTON, June 10 – Administration officials are preparing to host leaders from major defense companies at the White House as early as next week to address the need for faster weapons manufacturing, according to sources familiar with the plans.
This upcoming gathering represents the second time the administration has brought together top executives from the nation’s premier defense contractors to address production acceleration. The previous March session featured chief executives and senior leadership from BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX Corporation, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace and L3Harris Technologies, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth participating.
Ongoing military conflicts with Iran along with weapons shipments to Ukraine over recent years have significantly reduced America’s weapons inventory.
The planned session occurs while Pentagon officials continue urging contractors to substantially increase their production speed. These efforts center around manufacturing agreements established earlier this year.
The completed arrangements include a multi-year contract to increase PAC-3 production threefold and expand THAAD interceptor manufacturing fourfold through Lockheed, plus additional multi-year contracts with RTX to enhance Tomahawk and AMRAAM air-to-air missile production. These arrangements, labeled as “framework agreements,” remain unconverted to actual contracts.
The White House, Lockheed Martin, RTX, Boeing and L3Harris have not yet provided responses to comment requests.
