Pentagon Pushes Low-Cost Missile Program After Iran War Depletes Stocks

The U.S. military is accelerating programs to build cheap missiles after the war with Iran exposed how quickly munitions can be consumed and how slowly stocks are replenished. According to a Wall Street Journal report cited Monday, the Army and Air Force want to produce thousands of missiles costing only a few hundred thousand dollars each, far below the multimillion-dollar price of Patriot or Tomahawk missiles.

The Pentagon is using unconventional contracting methods that give companies more design flexibility and favor simple, ready-made systems over highly complex ones. Doug Jones, chief technology officer at Leidos’ defense unit, summarized the shift by asking, “Instead of building one Cadillac, can I build 10 Honda Accords?”

Companies including CoAspire, Anduril, Leidos and Zone 5 are using off-the-shelf parts and 3D printing to cut development time. CoAspire founder Doug Denneny said the open dialogue with the military allows them to “fix it while moving” instead of halting production lines.

The report says the U.S. fired more than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles this year in the Iran war, at a cost of more than $2.5 billion. While expensive missiles will not disappear, the goal is to create a much larger, more available strike force, with a target of 10,000 cheap missiles by 2030. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have said they will review contractor performance and may penalize firms that fail to meet expectations, though no public sanctions have been imposed so far.