Trump to Host Defense Contractors Meeting on Missile Production

President Trump will host a meeting of U.S. defense contractors on Wednesday to address missile and munitions production needs after nearly four months of war with Iran. Trump confirmed the gathering on Monday and said the administration is pressing companies to expand output of missiles, including the Patriot system.

He added that the government is working with car companies that have excess capacity to build missiles. General Motors is preparing to switch plants to weapons work that includes Patriots and Tomahawks, Trump said. RTX Corp is among the firms expected to attend.

Lockheed Martin Corp referred questions about the meeting to the White House. Spokespeople for RTX, L3Harris Corp, and Boeing Co declined to comment. Last month Trump invoked the Defense Production Act, directing the defense secretary to negotiate voluntary production agreements.

In January the administration barred defense contractors from paying dividends or conducting stock buybacks. After a March meeting with arms makers, Trump said the firms had agreed to quadruple production of exquisite-class weaponry. "We’re really in a big strong economic push to do the weapons, and some of the car companies, if they have any excess capacity, they’re making a deal to build missiles, and the Patriot in particular," Trump said Monday at the White House.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the U.S. military has more than enough munitions and ammunition to meet all strategic goals. Trump added that recent meetings with defense executives covered production schedules and that orders for medium- and upper-medium-grade munitions have increased.

The CEOs of BAE Systems, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace, L3Harris Missile Solutions, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon participated in those earlier discussions.