The Trump administration has asked the US defence industry to rapidly escalate the production and delivery of weapons, including munitions that are in extremely short supply due to the war with Iran, The Washington Post has reported, quoting a Defence Department memo, according to Al Jazeera.

Deputy Defence Secretary Steve Feinberg wrote to industry leaders last Wednesday, noting that they have to submit plans to “drive significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules and/or increased production for critical capabilities”, within 21 days.

“Years-long development cycles are not acceptable,” Feinberg wrote. “We must dramatically accelerate our program schedules and expand our production capacity now.”

There have been multiple reports of the US running short on munitions stockpiles, and more critically, of anti-missile Patriot interceptors. Trump earlier said that the army has “massive amounts” of munitions, posting on Truth Social that “large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the US as needed”.