The United States is rapidly replenishing ammunition stockpiles, boosting the domestic economy while preparing for future potential conflicts. The U.S government recently created the Munitions Acceleration Council, a body designed to coordinate increased production among domestic arms suppliers by up to four times the current rate. In June, the council met with industry executives to discuss ways to speed production, according to a September 2025 report in The Wall Street Journal.
The council is focusing on 12 weapons systems that are seen as crucial in successfully waging future war efforts, including Patriot interceptors, Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles, the Standard Missile-6, Precision Strike Missiles and Joint Air-Surface Standoff Missiles, the newspaper reported. In July, the U.S. government budgeted about $34 billion over five years for munitions. The current target likely would cost tens of billions more. “Companies don’t build these things on spec,” said Tom Karako, a munitions expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “You wait for the government to put them on contract. There needs to be an expression of support with money. It can’t just be words.”
Defense companies are expanding production and hiring workers to meet demand. In September, the U.S. Army awarded $10 billion to Lockheed Martin to produce 2,000 PAC-3 missiles by 2026. The company told the Journal it expects to meet that demand for several years. Other production efficiencies are being ironed out by Pentagon planners. Boeing recently rushed to complete a 35,000-square-foot expansion to meet the uptick in demand for a “seeker” inside the Patriot missile’s nose. Previously, the Journal reported, the seeker “has become a chokepoint for Patriot production.” A Boeing spokeswoman said that monthly seeker deliveries have hit new records and that the company plans to further boost production, the newspaper reported.
The U.S. government has not confirmed the existence of the munition’s council or its work, Reuters reported after the Journal story published, which relied on anonymous sources. Media reports indicated that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine are involved in the effort and that Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg checks in weekly with arms suppliers to keep tabs on the effort. “President (Donald J.) Trump and Secretary Hegseth are exploring extraordinary avenues to expand our military might and accelerate the production of munitions,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told the Journal. “This effort has been a collaboration between defense industry leaders and senior Pentagon officials.”