{"id":30765,"date":"2026-06-27T03:50:54","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T07:50:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/trump-urges-defense-manufacturers-to-speed-up-weapons-production\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T03:50:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T07:50:54","slug":"trump-urges-defense-manufacturers-to-speed-up-weapons-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/trump-urges-defense-manufacturers-to-speed-up-weapons-production\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Urges Defense Manufacturers to Speed Up Weapons Production"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome back to Foreign Policy<\/em>\u2019s Situation Report, where we\u2019re gearing up for our next on-the-road edition! John and Rishi will be on the ground at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, next month. Drop us a note if you\u2019ll be there too and would like to dish or if you know someone we should meet. (U.S. President Donald Trump has already confirmed<\/a> he will attend.)<\/p>\n

Alright, here\u2019s what\u2019s on tap for the day: Trump pushes U.S. weapons-makers<\/strong> to step up production, Hegseth pushes out a top general in Europe<\/strong>, and more discomfort between Trump and Republicans on Iran<\/strong> war powers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Welcome back to Foreign Policy<\/em>\u2019s Situation Report, where we\u2019re gearing up for our next on-the-road edition! John and Rishi will be on the ground at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, next month. Drop us a note if you\u2019ll be there too and would like to dish or if you know someone we should meet. (U.S. President Donald Trump has already confirmed<\/a> he will attend.)<\/p>\n

Alright, here\u2019s what\u2019s on tap for the day: Trump pushes U.S. weapons-makers<\/strong> to step up production, Hegseth pushes out a top general in Europe<\/strong>, and more discomfort between Trump and Republicans on Iran<\/strong> war powers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The missiles have stopped flying between the United States and Iran (for now) after they signed a memorandum of understanding last week ending the monthslong conflict. Now begins the reckoning of how much of the U.S. arsenal was depleted and how to build it back.<\/p>\n

The numbers don\u2019t make for encouraging reading\u2014Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last month that the U.S. military had used nearly 14,000<\/a> strike munitions, with the Defense Department estimating at that time that the Iran war had cost a total of $29 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A new report<\/a> on Tuesday from the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated those numbers to be significantly higher when including munitions used in air defense weapons such as the Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems.<\/p>\n

Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg reportedly<\/a> told lawmakers last week that the military would need $80 billion to cover the total cost of the war.<\/p>\n

The Pentagon did not respond to SitRep\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n

Presidential pressure.<\/strong> Just a few days before Trump announced<\/a> that a deal had been reached with Tehran, he sent a memorandum<\/a> to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth invoking the Defense Production Act to address \u201csystemic constraints in the munitions industrial base.\u201d The 1950 law gives U.S. presidents emergency authority to direct U.S. companies to help shore up national defense.<\/p>\n

Trump said<\/a> on Monday that automobile manufacturers such as Ford and General Motors were going to \u201cswitch over\u201d some of their plants to build weapons. \u201cWe\u2019re really in a big, strong economic push to do the weapons, and some of the car companies, if they have any excess capacity, they\u2019re making a deal to build missiles,\u201d he said. This month, General Motors and defense company Lockheed Martin announced<\/a> an MOU (yes, another one) to jointly \u201cexplore opportunities to accelerate the delivery of critical capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

And on Wednesday, Trump hosted<\/a> executives from leading weapons manufacturers at the White House, with Feinberg reportedly pushing them in that meeting to ramp up production. That same day, Lockheed announced<\/a> that it had won a $35 billion contract from the U.S. government to quadruple its existing production of THAAD systems.<\/p>\n

Cheaper solutions.<\/strong> The military is also looking toward the less costly end of the spectrum to shore up its defenses. The U.S. Army on Tuesday unveiled a new program to induct low-cost (priced under $1 million) interceptor systems into the military, with a target for companies to host initial demonstrations of their systems as soon as this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are some very big, hard systems and hard problems to solve,\u201d Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told reporters on Tuesday. He added that the Army is looking to give companies expedited access in a matter of weeks to two of its test ranges that are meant to mimic the conflict environment in Ukraine. \u201cYou\u2019re seeing us trying to innovate as quickly as we possibly can [and] try different tactics to see what works,\u201d Driscoll said.<\/p>\n

The Pentagon is not the only one closely watching U.S. defense production. NATO countries last year committed to spending 5 percent of their GDP annually on defense by 2035, and many of them have already begun working toward that goal, as NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte reminded an audience in Washington during his visit to the U.S. capital on Thursday. \u201cNow, we need supply to meet demand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAllies are investing a whole lot more. The budgets are there,\u201d Rutte added, \u201cbut the assets we need, the capabilities to deter and defend, simply aren\u2019t available at the scale or speed that our security requires.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hegseth has pushed out yet another general with no explanation. Gen. Christopher Donahue, the top U.S. Army commander in Europe since 2024, will now relinquish command on July 2\u2014only halfway through his assignment (which normally lasts about three years). The special forces veteran was reportedly<\/a> asked to put in his retirement papers by the Pentagon, though the Defense Department has declined to comment to multiple outlets. The Army confirmed Donahue\u2019s departure but did not provide a reason.<\/p>\n

Donahue is just the latest on a growing list of respected military leaders who\u2019ve been forced out by Hegseth in his controversial and chaotic tenure as Pentagon chief. In April, Hegseth ousted Gen. Randy George as the Army chief of staff. Hegseth has also blocked the promotions of numerous senior officers. This month, the Wall Street Journal<\/em>\u2019s Lara Seligman reported<\/a> that since becoming defense secretary, Hegseth has blocked or fired at least two dozen admirals and generals.<\/p>\n

What should be high on your radar, if it isn\u2019t already.<\/em><\/p>\n

Republicans retreat on war powers.<\/strong> On Tuesday, the Senate approved<\/a> a war powers resolution to block Trump from restarting the war with Iran. Four Republicans supported the resolution: Sens. Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Rand Paul. The measure also passed in the House this month. Though it was a symbolic vote (it didn\u2019t carry the force of law and couldn\u2019t be vetoed), Trump was reportedly infuriated, calling the four Republicans who backed the resolution \u201cLosers<\/a>.\u201d Trump accused the senators of making his job harder as his administration works to negotiate a nuclear agreement with Tehran.<\/p>\n

At a meeting with Republican senators on Wednesday, Trump and Cassidy had a heated exchange on Iran. \u201cHe raised his voice. I lost my temper. That\u2019s not appropriate,\u201d Cassidy told reporters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Later on Wednesday, Cassidy voted against<\/a> a separate but similar Iran war powers resolution\u2014reversing his previous stance\u2014while Paul voted present. Trump\u2019s pressure campaign seemingly worked, and the measure failed. FP\u2019s Rachel Oswald recently wrote about why it\u2019s so hard for Congress to curb Trump\u2019s war powers, which we highly recommend reading.<\/p>\n

Bessent goes to bat for the MOU.<\/strong> The Trump administration has faced significant criticism in Washington, including from some Republicans, on the MOU with Iran. Skeptics of the deal worry that far too many concessions were offered to Tehran, warning that the agreement will boost the Iranian economy in dangerous ways. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday sought to make a case for the unpopular agreement. FP\u2019s Keith Johnson wrote a must-read analysis on Bessent\u2019s defense of the MOU and whether it holds up.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span>
\n NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and U.S. President Donald Trump speak during a meeting in the White House Oval Office in Washington on June 24.<\/p>\n

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and U.S. President Donald Trump speak during a meeting in the White House Oval Office in Washington on June 24. Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n

Monday, June 29:<\/strong> The U.S. Supreme Court is set to announce additional rulings.<\/p>\n

Technical talks between the United States and Iran are expected to resume<\/a> in Switzerland on this day or the following day, per U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.<\/p>\n

24:<\/strong> The percentage of Americans who think the Iran war was worth the costs, per a new Reuters\/Ipsos poll<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a federal crime to touch water.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Norm Eisen<\/a>, the lawyer for David Hearn, the ex-Olympian who was arrested for allegedly vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington after the Trump administration spent more than $14 million revamping it. Since the renovation, it has been plagued by green algae, and sections of its new liner have peeled off, both of which Trump has blamed<\/a> on vandals (without providing evidence).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to Foreign Policy\u2019s Situation Report, where we\u2019re gearing up for our next on-the-road edition! John and Rishi will be on the ground at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, next month. Drop us a note if you\u2019ll be there too and would like to dish or if you know someone we should meet. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11611],"tags":[205,18317,7944,11612,20323,21036,11750,1488,18016,9497,5461,8899,473,13399,21035,11614,934,2852],"class_list":["post-30765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spyballoon-global-news","tag-defense","tag-department-of-defense","tag-europe","tag-iran","tag-iran-u-s","tag-manufacturers","tag-middle-east-and-north-africa","tag-military","tag-missile-defense","tag-nato","tag-production","tag-speed","tag-trump","tag-u-s-military","tag-u-s-secretary-of-defense","tag-united-states","tag-urges","tag-weapons"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",0,0,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",0,0,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",0,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",150,150,false],"medium":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",1024,1024,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",1536,1536,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",2048,2048,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",370,265,false],"kava-thumb-s":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",150,85,false],"kava-thumb-s-2":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",230,230,false],"kava-thumb-m":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",400,400,false],"kava-thumb-m-vertical":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",370,500,false],"kava-thumb-m-2":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",570,450,false],"kava-thumb-l":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",1170,650,false],"kava-thumb-xl":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",1920,1080,false],"kava-thumb-masonry":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",600,999,false],"kava-thumb-justify":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",640,640,false],"kava-thumb-justify-2":["https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1676074804.jpg",1280,640,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"#RiseCelestialStudios","author_link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/author\/ralph-c\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"SPYBALLOON GLOBAL NEWS<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Welcome back to Foreign Policy\u2019s Situation Report, where we\u2019re gearing up for our next on-the-road edition! John and Rishi will be on the ground at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, next month. Drop us a note if you\u2019ll be there too and would like to dish or if you know someone we should meet.…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30765"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30767,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30765\/revisions\/30767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}