Trump says defense CEOs agree to quadruple production of 'Exquisite Class' weaponry

In this articlePresident Donald Trump met Friday afternoon with CEOs of major defense industry companies at the White House as the war against Iran ended its first full week.After the meeting, Trump said in a social media post that "we discussed Production and Production Schedules" and "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 did not explain what he meant by "Exquisite Class Weaponry." The term is used in the defense industry to describe one-of-a-kind technology or systems.Trump said the meeting included CEOs of BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX Corporation, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace and L3Harris Technologies' Missile Solutions.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also attended the meeting."Expansion began three months prior to the meeting, and Plants and Production of many of these Weapons are already under way," Trump said on Truth Social."We have a virtually unlimited supply of Medium and Upper Medium Grade Munitions, which we are using, as an example, in Iran, and recently used in Venezuela. Regardless, however, we have also increased Orders at these levels," the president said.Lockheed Martin, in a statement, said, "Lockheed Martin has agreed to quadruple critical munitions production."As a result of President Trump's leadership, we began this work months ago with Secretary Hegseth and Deputy Secretary [Steve] Feinberg, and are committed to working with our industry partners to further strengthen the American military's unparalleled capability with the greatest munitions in the world. We are moving with urgency, and we will deliver," Lockheed Martin said.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a statement before the closed-door meeting, said, "The US military has more than enough munitions, ammo, and weapons stockpiles to continue demolishing the Iranian regime and achieve the goals of Operation Epic Fury."The White House has been on the defensive after news reports detailing concerns about low supply of both munitions and anti-missile defenses if the Iran war drags on."Nevertheless, President Trump has always been intensely focused on strengthening our military, which is why this meeting with defense contractors was scheduled weeks ago," Leavitt said."The President will continue to call on these US companies to more speedily build American-made weapons, which are the absolute best in the world," she said.Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inboxGet this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.© 2026 Versant Media, LLC.

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