Pentagon Turns to Auto Giants GM, Ford for Defense Output

(MENAFN) Senior Pentagon officials have engaged top leadership at major US automakers in exploratory talks about redirecting civilian manufacturing capacity toward weapons and military equipment production, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

According to the report, officials approached automakers — including General Motors and Ford — to assess whether factory floors could be rapidly retooled to manufacture tactical hardware, missiles, and counter-drone systems, effectively positioning them as supplementary producers alongside established defense contractors. Executives were also asked to flag obstacles standing in the way of entering the defense supply chain, ranging from procurement regulations to the complexities of the bidding process.

Pentagon officials framed the proposed industrial pivot as a matter of national security, underscoring the urgency of expanding domestic weapons output. The conversations emerge against a backdrop of mounting concern over depleted US military stockpiles, drawn down by the parallel demands of the wars in Ukraine and Iran.

In a separate but related development, the Pentagon has submitted a funding request exceeding $200 billion to the White House for congressional approval, aimed at sustaining the ongoing war effort in Iran, The Washington Post reported. Three individuals with direct knowledge of the matter told WaPo the request was designed to accelerate production of munitions actively being consumed in the Iran campaign.

The push comes despite Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly dismissing reports of weapons shortages, insisting the US maintained a "nearly unlimited stockpile" of precision bombs.

MENAFN16042026000045017169ID1110989465