US arms production surges as missile stockpiles run dangerously low

Global instability and a sharply depleted US arsenal of long-range weapons are driving a major surge in American rocket and missile production, as defence manufacturers accelerate investments to rebuild inventories strained by transfers to Israel, Ukraine, and other conflict zones.

Key contractors—among them L3Harris, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics—are pouring more than $700 million into expanding solid-rocket-motor (SRM) production. By 2026, output capacity for large solid rocket motors is projected to reach nearly six times current levels, while production of smaller tactical motors is expected to more than triple, The Washington Times reports.

“There have been a number of munitions utilized and therefore are needing to be replaced either for our allies or for our country as well,” said Ken Bedingfield, chief financial officer at L3Harris Technologies. The demand, he added, “is going to be enduring for some time to ensure that our country and our allies have sufficient stockpiles in order to project power and to help keep peace around the globe.”

Long-range precision capabilities are increasingly critical in modern warfare, particularly amid widespread drone usage. Thousands of rockets have been expended in Ukraine for both offensive strikes and air defense, while US munitions have also been used to protect American forces and civilian vessels in the Red Sea. The resulting backlog has elevated missile production to “the top of the priority list in the Department of Defense,” said Wes Rumbaugh of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Industry analysts say the surge reflects years of underinvestment. “The US doesn’t have enough arrows in its quiver,” one industry source said, noting that the country had been “riding the peace dividend of the past 30 years.”

Manufacturers and suppliers are now racing to rebuild capacity across a weakened supply chain, further strained after the end of NASA’s Space Shuttle program in 2011. New investments include $100 million from American Pacific Corporation to expand propellant capacity in Utah and $75 million from Anduril for a new SRM facility in Mississippi.

L3Harris alone has invested more than $500 million, including in a new advanced production facility in Arkansas, and is replenishing over 400 intercept missiles previously supplied to Israel. “We’re trying to focus on an ecosystem that says, ‘We’ll keep the supplier hot… we’ll take some risk, we’ll lean forward,’” Bedingfield said.

Yet challenges remain. The Pentagon’s push for faster, contract-independent production raises questions about long-term stability. “Will the Department of Defense be able to send a long-term demand signal and marshal the resources to keep all those businesses afloat?” Rumbaugh asked.

Still, companies say the mission is clear. “We know that these products are going to be needed,” Bedingfield said. “We want to make sure we build the right ones at the right times so that we get them in their hands.”

By Vafa Guliyeva