Trump To Meet With Defense Companies Over Missile Supply Concerns

President Trump plans to meet with defense companies to address missile supply concerns, according to a new report.

NBC News noted that Trump plans to meet with seven defense companies this week to discuss the U.S. missile supply.

The Associated Press reported in May that it would take the U.S. three years to replenish stockpiles of some of the weapons used in Iran. The report specifically focused on supplies of Tomahawk cruise missiles, and Patriot and THAAD interceptors that defend against incoming missiles and drones.

Elsewhere, an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies stated that the Iran war had depleted key U.S. munitions stockpiles. The report speculated that although the U.S. should be able to handle contingencies in Iran, the situation could make the U.S. vulnerable in a future conflict elsewhere. “The time needed to rebuild those inventories has thus become a major concern,” the report stated.

Another issue the U.S. has faced in the Iran is the cost of missile interceptors versus the cost of Iran drones. The New York Times reported that U.S. interceptor can cost as much as $4 million, while an Iranian drone costs about $35,000 to make.

That disparity contributed to the high cost of the war over the past months, especially in the early days when Iran launched many drones and missiles at neighboring countries hosting U.S. bases and highly sophisticated interceptors were used to down them. In just the first six days of the conflict, the cost to the U.S. was $11.3 billion. By April the cost had reached between $25 billion and $35 billion, the New York Times reported.

“America’s military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing,” Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement to NBC. “We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests.”

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he’s calling off renewed attacks against Iran as a result of progress in negotiations to end the war.

“Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have, as President of the United States of America, cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening. Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others. The Naval Blockade will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized — Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly,” Trump said in a social media publication.