White House Calls in Defense Industry Leaders as Iran Campaign Strains US Munitions Stockpile

The Trump administration is meeting with defense industry leaders on Friday to pressure them to accelerate production of key munitions amid growing concern from lawmakers about shrinking U.S. missile and rocket stockpiles as Operation Epic Fury burns through precision-guided weapons at an extraordinary rate. The White House insisted Wednesday that the United States has 'more than enough capability' to 'successfully' execute the Iran campaign and beyond, but the decision to convene defense executives tells a different story — one in which the pace of strikes is outrunning the industrial base's ability to replenish what has been fired. The meeting comes as President Trump simultaneously called defense company CEOs to the White House, signaling that munitions production has become a top presidential priority. For a nation that has not fought a near-peer military adversary in decades, the stockpile strain is a sobering reminder that modern warfare consumes materiel at a rate that peacetime production cannot sustain.