Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said this week the U.S. needs to rapidly scale its production of current weapons systems and expedite the manufacture of future weapons.
In his keynote address to the annual Air & Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium on Tuesday, Mr. Meink echoed much of the language in the 2026 National Defense Strategy, saying the Air Force is “supercharging” the U.S. defense industrial base.
“It doesn’t matter if we have something that works perfectly under all conditions,” he told a room filled with industry leaders, Space Force Guardians, airmen and other defense officials. “If it is too expensive and I can’t build enough of them to be effective, it’s a failed program.”
Mr. Meink’s comments align with recent moves by the Pentagon and statements by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth aimed at speeding up the acquisition and delivery of warfighting capabilities to troops.
The Pentagon recently replaced its traditional Program Executive Offices with Portfolio Acquisition Executives, who are directly responsible for several interconnected projects and systems and are authorized to shift funding and focus between them to prioritize speed.
Mr. Meink emphasized that this change will be instrumental in speeding up production.
“I believe that you need three things to be successful in delivering that capability to the joint force — talent, empowerment and the right resources,” the Air Force chief said.
Mr. Meink added that improving production and development speed is essential as the U.S. works to defend the Western Hemisphere from rival state actors, drug traffickers and extremists. He singled out China in his remarks as the main power to watch in the Western Hemisphere as its military rapidly modernizes.
“Our fundamental mission also stays the same — defend the homeland and deter all adversaries,” he said. “However, the world continues to evolve.”
