Executives from leading companies, including General Motors and Ford Motor, have held discussions with senior US defence officials on boosting weapons and military equipment production, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
The discussions, described as “preliminary and wide-ranging”, were set in motion ahead of the Iran conflict and signal the Trump administration's intent to expand the role of American carmakers and manufacturers in defence production, the The Wall Street Journal said.
Defence officials indicated that US manufacturers may need to bolster ties with traditional arms suppliers, while also assessing how swiftly they could transition to defence-related work. GE Aerospace and Oshkosh Corporation were among those engaged in the talks, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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The Defense Department “is committed to rapidly expanding the defence industrial base by leveraging all available commercial solutions and technologies to ensure our warfighters maintain a decisive advantage,” a Pentagon official told both The Wall Street Journal and Reuters.
The talks mark the latest effort by the administration to shift defence production towards what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has described as a “wartime footing”. The Wall Street Journal reported that the discussions began before the outbreak of conflict in Iran.
The subsequent strain on US ammunition reserves has underscored the need for broader industry support to rapidly expand supplies of missiles, counter-drone systems and other tactical equipment.
US defence authorities used the meetings to emphasise that strengthening arms production is a matter of national security. People briefed on the discussions said companies were asked whether they could help boost domestic manufacturing and to identify barriers such as procurement rules and tendering hurdles.
US defence officials and legislators have become increasingly uneasy about the country's arms manufacturing capacity following the large-scale transfer of weapons to Ukraine by Washington and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization partners after Russia's 2022 invasion. The Pentagon has since proposed a $1.5 trillion budget, its largest to date, with a strong focus on boosting ammunition and drone production.
The idea of converting domestic manufacturing for defence purposes has historical roots. In World War II, automakers in Detroit pivoted away from cars to produce bombers, engines and trucks, cementing America's role as the “Arsenal of Democracy”.
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