West Asia conflict: US President Donald Trump asks defence contractors to quadruple production

US President Donald Trump on Friday met executives from seven defence contractors. Following the meeting, top US arms producers agreed to quadruple their production as the Pentagon works ⁠to replenish supplies amid the American operation in Iran and other recent military activities.

"We just concluded a very good meeting with the largest US Defense Manufacturing Companies where we discussed Production and Production Schedules," Trump said in a social media post.

"They have agreed to quadruple Production of the “Exquisite Class” Weaponry in that we want to reach, as rapidly as possible, the highest levels of quantity. Expansion began three months prior to the meeting, and Plants and Production of many of these Weapons are already under way," Trump said.

Companies including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon parent RTX, BAE Systems, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace, L3Harris and Northrop Grumman, attended ​the meeting, Trump said.

Earlier, Reuters quoting an official had reported that Pentagon negotiators ⁠were not been able to reach terms with large defence contractors as quickly as they would like.

The Trump administration has upped the pressure steadily on defence contractors to prioritise production over shareholder payouts.

Trump signed an executive order in ⁠January to identify contractors ‌deemed to be underperforming on contracts while distributing profits to shareholders.

The US has acquired billions of dollars worth of weapons, including artillery systems, ammunition and anti-tank missiles since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Israel's operations in Gaza.

At the center of the talks are deals with ‌large contractors like Lockheed Martin, two government sources and one industry executive told Reuters.

In January the ‌company reached a seven-year agreement with the Pentagon to increase annual production capacity for its PAC-3 missile interceptors to 2,000 units a year from about 600 previously.

The company has announced it expects to quadruple production of its Terminal High ⁠Altitude Area Defense, or ⁠THAAD, missile interceptors to 400 per year from 96.

Demand for air defence systems such as the PAC-3 has surged among the United States and its allies.

(With Reuters inputs)