Systematic constraints on America's munitions industrial base are presenting a "direct threat" to the preparedness of U.S. national defense, according to the White House. 

The warning came in a June 11 memorandum to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which was filed on Tuesday for publication in the Federal Registry on Wednesday. 

In the memorandum, the White House explains that "limited production capacity, fragile supply chains, long-lead dependencies" and other bottlenecks are impairing the ability for the United States to produce and sustain a supply of munitions, missiles and other equipment needed for national defense. 

The memorandum invokes the Defense Production Act to direct Hegseth to provide voluntary agreements and plans of action to address the situation. 

Hegseth last week denied any munitions' crisis in an interview on CBS's "Face the Nation," calling it a "manufactured story" the media is peddling. He said America's stockpiles are strong and improving. In 2025, sources told Just the News that Hegseth urged leaders of America's biggest military contractors to ramp up production of munitions to address depleting stockpiles.