Pentagon pushes US automakers to produce arms as arsenals depleting due to war on Iran

The Pentagon has pushed American automakers to manufacture arms as arsenals of the United States are running out of weapons, a report says, nearly 50 days after a US-Israeli military coalition waged a war of aggression against Iran.

Citing some unnamed military sources, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that senior US military officials have already held talks with top executives of major automakers, including General Motors (GM.N), and Ford Motor (F.N), to produce weapons and other military supplies.

According to the report, the preliminary and wide-ranging talks with auto companies commenced even before February 28, when the US and the Israeli regime began their unprovoked war on Iran.

The development comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump has called on automakers and other American manufacturers to play a larger role in weapons production, as the pointless and costly aggression devoured a lion’s share of US arms stocks after 40 days of war with Iran.

The report, quoting military officials, added that American manufacturers might be needed to back traditional military contractors, wondering whether the automakers could swiftly shift to military work.

The Pentagon also talked with top executives of GE Aerospace (GE.N) and vehicle and machinery maker Oshkosh (OSK.N), the Journal added.

Pentagon hiding US casualties in war against Iran: Report

An American news organization says hundreds of US troops have been killed or wounded in Iranian strikes that took place in retaliation for the US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic, adding that the Pentagon is undercounting the casualties.

Separately, Reuters quoted an unnamed Pentagon official as saying in a statement that the Department of War “is committed to rapidly expanding the [military] industrial base by leveraging all available commercial solutions and technologies to ensure our warfighters maintain a decisive advantage.”

Last month, Trump met with executives from seven military contractors as the Pentagon works to replenish arms supplies used in US strikes on Iran and other recent military operations.

Earlier this month, the US president requested a massive $500 billion increase in the military budget to $1.5 trillion.

An analysis by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), titled “Over 11,000 Munitions in 16 Days of the Iran War: ‘Command of the Reload’ Governs Endurance,” warned in March that the US and Israel are facing a logistical crisis in their war on Iran, with interceptor inventories projected to run out within weeks.

It also revealed that industrial endurance, rather than battlefield performance, is now shaping strategic decision-making in the war.

The US, on the other hand, is facing a comparable strain on its THAAD interceptor inventory, it added.

The high burn rate US-Israeli interceptors is driven by sustained Iranian retaliatory attacks that came in 100 waves, targeting US and Israeli bases and assets in the region and the occupied territories.

Forty days into the war, a Pakistan-brokered two-week ceasefire went into effect, but Tehran-Washington negotiations in Islamabad failed to reach a deal due to the American delegation’s excessive demands and shifting goalposts.

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