The United States has encountered major difficulties in restocking its military weapons after the ongoing conflict with Iran, which has revealed long-standing issues with maintaining enough high-tech arms. The war, now in its seventh month, has drained key weapons systems, prompting the Pentagon to push the defense industry into a "wartime footing" to rebuild its arsenal. This effort is projected to cost billions of dollars and could take several years to complete. At Lockheed Martin's plant in Camden, Arkansas, Tim Cahill, head of the company’s missile division, showcased the latest version of the Patriot air defense missile, a cutting-edge system designed to intercept ballistic missiles. Each Patriot missile costs around $4 million, and Lockheed Martin is currently producing 750 per year. However, this rate is significantly lower than the estimated 1,500 missiles used in the war with Iran. According to Mark Cancian from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the cost of the munitions already used against Iran is estimated to be around $25 billion. The conflict with Iran has underscored the U.S. military’s lack of sufficient weapons stockpiles and the ability to rapidly increase production for long-term conflicts. This problem became clear after the U.S. ramped up military aid to Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in 2022. While the Pentagon has dismissed claims of shortages, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has called on the defense industry to boost production to a "wartime footing," a term Cahill describes as "controlled chaos." Lockheed Martin aims to increase Patriot missile production from 750 to 2,000 per year by adding more shifts and enhancing automation. However, the manufacturing process is intricate, requiring about two years to assemble the 4,000 components in each missile. The company relies on a vast supply chain, involving 500 to 1,000 suppliers, which can lead to delays. L3Harris, which produces rocket motors for the Patriot missile, has nearly doubled its output and is constructing a new, more automated plant. However, the project is still 16 months away from completion. The rocket fuel in each motor must be cured in an oven, a process that can take days to weeks. Meanwhile, CoAspire, a startup in Virginia, is developing a low-cost cruise missile at a fraction of the price of traditional high-tech missiles. The missile, which uses only 200 parts, including some off-the-shelf commercial components, is designed for mass production. The Pentagon plans to purchase 10,000 of these low-cost missiles from CoAspire and similar startups. According to Cancian, it could take between one and five years to restore U.S. stockpiles to pre-war levels, and several more years to reach a level that war planners consider safe for a potential conflict with China.