Two major US car makers have been approached by the Pentagon about the possibility of helping the US government manufacture military equipment, as the Trump administration seeks a significant boost in arms production.
The discussions were first reported by The Wall Street Journal last week, which said that the CEOs of General Motors and Ford Motor Company were both approached separately by US War Department officials.
A source told the Detroit Free Press that some of the conversations happened as early as last year. US military stockpiles have been significantly depleted by the war in Ukraine and the wars in the Middle East, including the 12-Day US-Israeli war against Iran that took place last year and this year’s war against the Islamic Republic.
The US military has been using air defense interceptors and other munitions in the Middle East at a much faster rate than they can be produced, even with plans to significantly ramp up production.
For example, in less than two weeks of war with Iran, the US and its allies in the region used more than 1,000 PAC-3 interceptors, which are fired by the Patriot air defense systems. Lockheed Martin currently produces 600 PAC-3s each year and has said it wants to increase annual production to 2,000, but it will take several years to reach that goal.
The development is a sign that the Trump administration is preparing for global conflict, as Ford, GM, and other US car makers helped manufacture military equipment during World War II. President Trump has also requested a $1.5 trillion military budget for 2027, a nearly 50% increase from this year, with some of the additional funds earmarked for increasing weapons production.
