Hegseth: U.S. munitions stockpile strong, dismisses shortage claims as 'manufactured story'

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday refuted claims of a crisis in U.S. munitions stockpiles, describing such narratives as "manufactured stories" pushed by the media. Hegseth asserted on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that American stockpiles are "great" and continuously strengthening.

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That is a manufactured story that the media wants to pedal and ultimately our stockpiles are great, and they're only getting stronger.

His comments followed earlier testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee where he estimated that replenishing the stockpile could take "months and years." At the time, Hegseth described the timeline as "fast," dependent on the weapon system, and noted that production speed would increase as "new plants" come online. He also cited depleted munitions levels from the previous administration.

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I speculated some munitions take more time than others.

Pressed on his earlier remarks, Hegseth clarified that "some munitions take more time than others," but reiterated, "we've got lots of them." He emphasized that the U.S. is "building more than ever before," attributing the need to refill stockpiles to aid provided to Ukraine under the Biden administration. Hegseth stated that the U.S. is "supercharging our arsenal of freedom" by increasing production and streamlining Pentagon bureaucracy to expedite industry response.

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we've got lots of them.

Despite Hegseth's assurances, regional officials in the Gulf expressed concerns in March about dwindling interceptor supplies for Iranian-fired missiles. However, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine countered these concerns, stating sufficient "precision munitions for the task at hand" were available. Hegseth also addressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's request for Patriot missiles, affirming the U.S. capacity for co-production and its commitment to bolstering its "arsenal of freedom."

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The Biden administration gave away hundreds of billions to Ukraine, and so President Trump had to refill, and he has, and we have, in real time.