WASHINGTON — Emerging weapons manufacturers were called to the Pentagon to meet with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this afternoon to discuss how to boost munitions production in the wake of the war with Iran, two sources told Breaking Defense.
Invitees to the closely held, publicly unannounced meeting included Anduril, Castelion and Leidos, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the event. It is unclear if other companies were in attendance, or if some firms were invited and unable to attend.
Today’s meeting follows a similar summit at the White House held on Wednesday, in which President Donald Trump met with defense primes to discuss munitions needs.
In May, the Pentagon announced framework agreements with Anduril, Leidos, CoAspire and Zone 5 for the Low-Cost Containerized Missiles (LCCM) program, while also embarking on a “parallel agreement” with Castelion “to scale low-cost hypersonic solutions,” specifically its Blackbeard missile.
One source said the LCCM program was a topic of discussion during the meeting at the Pentagon today.
The Defense Department referred questions to the White House. The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.
Spokespersons for Leidos and Castelion deferred questions to the Defense Department. Anduril did not immediately return a request for comment.
The Pentagon has been emphasizing the need to bring new entrants into the industrial base, with a clear message that if the traditional defense players can’t meet the needs of the warfighter, the administration will find new players who will.
Wednesday’s White House meeting, first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Monday, was called to discuss ramping up munitions production amid concerns about weapons stockpiles dwindling as a result of the Iran War.
Reuters reported that the initial message of the meeting on Wednesday was that weapons primes were not doing enough to hasten production times, though that tone softened by the end of the meeting as leaders highlighted the need for cooperation.
That marked the second such gathering at the White House, following a March meeting between Trump and seven defense firms: RTX, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, L3Harris Missile Solutions and Honeywell Aerospace.
“They have agreed to quadruple Production of the ‘Exquisite Class’ Weaponry in that we want to reach, as rapidly as possible, the highest levels of quantity,” Trump said then in a Truth Social post following the meeting. “Expansion began three months prior to the meeting, and Plants and Production of many of these Weapons are already under way.”
However, it is unclear whether the first meeting resulted in any new agreements to boost munitions production beyond the thresholds already agreed to in ly-announced framework agreements.
Meanwhile, $47 billion of the department’s munitions request for fiscal 2027 remains tied up in the administration’s attempt to add $350 billion to the defense budget through a party-line reconciliation bill. Pentagon officials and defense executives have repeatedly made clear that funding is imperative in order to finalize contracts associated with the framework agreements.
