Trump to press Boeing, Lockheed, Honeywell on weapons production
CEOs Boeing’s, LockheedMartin And Honeywell’s He arrived at the White House on Wednesday to meet with President Donald Trump as the administration pressures major defense contractors to increase weapons production amid concerns about U.S. missile and ammunition stockpiles.
The meeting took place in the wake of US military operations in Iran and amid ongoing peace talks with Tehran; That gives the White House greater urgency to replace key weapons systems and reassure allies that the U.S. defense industrial base can keep up with demand.
The production move is already being translated.
On Wednesday, the Missile Defense Agency Lockheed Martin awarded $35.3 billion sole-source contract By June 2032, THAAD will produce interceptors and will be liable for $842.9 million in rewards. The same announcement also included a $398.7 million Raytheon award for Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, including sales to U.S. allies.
Additionally, the White House on Wednesday asked Congress for $87.6 billion in additional spending, primarily for the Iran war. The Senate on Tuesday passed an Iran war powers resolution instructing Trump to end U.S. hostilities with Tehran; It was a symbolic bipartisan rebuke that underscored growing congressional scrutiny of the president’s military strategy and peace talks.
Earlier this month, Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to speed up weapons production, citing systemic constraints in the munitions base, including limited production capacity, fragile supply chains and long lead times.
But scaling up weapons production is often measured in years rather than months, complicating the Trump administration’s push for faster production.
The White House has also pushed contractors to prioritize existing Pentagon contracts, faster deliveries and American production capacity over shareholder payouts. A key Senate committee last week approved a bill that would codify a January Trump executive order requiring defense contractors to give the Pentagon approval to buy back stock or issue dividends. Defense contractors opposed the mandate.
Wednesday’s meeting follows a White House meeting with executives from major defense firms in March. LockheedMartin, RTX, Boeing’s, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Honeywell Aviation And L3Harris.
The administration is trying to increase production of Patriot and THAAD interceptors, Tomahawk cruise missiles and AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, but industry executives have warned that major investments would require congressional funding.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte backed Trump’s effort to increase arms production, saying at the White House on Wednesday that the United States has the industrial capacity to do so. He called the U.S. defense industrial base “one of the strongest in the world,” citing more than $50 billion in sales to Europe and Canada last year and an order book of nearly $300 billion.
