Trump invokes Cold War-era law after Iran war depletes weapon stockpiles: What is the Act?

US President Donald Trump has invoked the Defence Production Act to accelerate the production of weapons and military equipment, citing concerns over the country's ability to maintain and expand critical munitions stockpiles after recent conflicts.

In a document signed last week and addressed to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump said he had determined that circumstances existed that could threaten US national defence preparedness.

He wrote that he finds “that conditions exist which may pose a direct threat to the national defence or its preparedness programs.”

The document pointed to weaknesses within the US munitions industry, including limited manufacturing capacity, supply chain vulnerabilities, long production timelines and other bottlenecks that could affect military readiness.

“In particular, systemic constraints in the munitions industrial base, including limited production capacity, fragile supply chains, long-lead dependencies, and related production bottlenecks, may impair the ability of the United States to produce, sustain, and expand the availability of munitions, missiles, and equipment required for the national defence,” the document said.

The move allows the administration to direct private defence companies to prioritise and increase production of military equipment. It also highlights growing concerns within the administration about the state of US weapons reserves following the war with Iran, as well as continued military support provided during the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.

Concerns over the defence industry's production capacity have existed for years, but officials and experts told CNN that those worries intensified after the conflict with Iran, during which the US consumed significant quantities of key missile stockpiles.

Speaking from the G7 summit in France on Wednesday, Trump described the final phase of the conflict as intense and costly.

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“The last two days of the war were brutal,” Trump said, adding that “$200 million worth of bombs” were used.

Throughout the conflict, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and other Pentagon officials maintained publicly that the United States possessed sufficient resources to conduct military operations while meeting commitments elsewhere.

According to a recent analysis by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, the US used at least 45% of its Precision Strike Missile inventory, along with roughly half of its Patriot air defence interceptor missiles and THAAD missile stockpiles.

What is the Defence Production Act?

The Defence Production Act, first enacted in the 1950s, gives the president broad authority to strengthen industrial production for national security purposes. It enables the government to require companies to prioritise critical contracts, support the production of essential materials and enter into agreements with private industry to meet defence needs.

The law has been used by multiple administrations. Trump invoked it during the COVID-19 pandemic to increase ventilator production and later to support domestic mineral development. Former President Joe Biden also used the Act to speed up the production of clean energy technologies in the United States.