WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Wednesday it had reached framework agreements with BAE Systems, Lockheed and Honeywell to boost production of defense systems munitions as part of a push to put the U.S. military on a "wartime footing."
The announcements come more than three weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel launched a war on Iran. They also follow Trump's meeting earlier this month with executives from seven defense contractors as the Pentagon sought to replenish
weapons stocks depleted by U.S. strikes on Iran and other recent military operations.
The Pentagon also plans to send thousands of airborne troops to the Gulf to give Trump more options to order a ground assault, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Under the agreements, Honeywell Aerospace will "surge production of critical components for America's munitions stockpile," as part of a $500 million multi-year investment, the Pentagon said.
BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin will also quadruple production of seekers for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor, while a new framework agreement with Lockheed will accelerate production of its Precision Strike Missile, the Pentagon added.
Honeywell said the agreement would support increased output of navigation systems, missile steering actuators and electronic warfare products used across U.S. military platforms.
Honeywell Aerospace CEO Jim Currier said the company was ready to help meet the urgent demand.
Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet also said the company was "working closely with the Department of War and the U.S. Army to scale production to meet operational demand."
Trump in January signed an executive order directing officials to identify contractors deemed to be underperforming on government contracts while continuing to return profits to shareholders. His administration has also stepped up pressure on defense companies to prioritize production over shareholder payouts.
"We discussed production and production schedules," Trump said of the earlier meeting, which included executives from Lockheed Martin, RTX, BAE Systems, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace, L3Harris Technologies and Northrop Grumman .
The United States has drawn down billions of dollars worth of weapons from its stockpiles since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and during Israel's military operations in Gaza, including artillery systems, ammunition and anti-tank missiles.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Abhinav Parmar; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Tasim Zahid)
