U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (L) speaks as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine (R) listens during a news conference at the Pentagon on March 2, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — Emerging weapons manufacturers were called to the Pentagon to meet with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this afternoon to discuss how to boost munitions production in the wake of the war with Iran, two sources told Breaking Defense.
Invitees to the closely held, publicly unannounced meeting included Anduril, Castelion and Leidos, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the event. It is unclear if other companies were in attendance, or if some firms were invited and unable to attend.
Today’s meeting follows a similar summit at the White House held on Wednesday, in which President Donald Trump met with defense primes to discuss munitions needs.
In May, the Pentagon announced framework agreements with Anduril, Leidos, CoAspire and Zone 5 for the Low-Cost Containerized Missiles (LCCM) program, while also embarking on a “parallel agreement” with Castelion “to scale low-cost hypersonic solutions,” specifically its Blackbeard missile.
