U.S. Military Expert Issues Grave Warning: ‘We Need More Munitions, and Deliveries Are Years Behind.’ What Stocks Can Benefit?

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On CNBC’s June 18, 2026 segment, Tara Murphy Dougherty, CEO of Air (recently rebranded from Govini), delivered a blunt diagnosis of America’s defense-industrial posture. “There’s a lot of pressure on defense companies right now to deliver,” she said. “The Department of War is saying we need more equipment, we need more material, we need more munitions. And the deliveries are years behind.”

Dougherty calls this the “readiness gap”, framing it as “a continuously held state” rather than a one-time fix. The FY 2027 Department of War budget allocates $114 billion for missiles, munitions, and hypersonic weapons and over $100 billion in defense industrial base investments, with explicit targeting of “key sub-tier Solid Rocket Motor suppliers” and a 5-year “mine-to-magnet” rare earth investment strategy. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has called for moving from a “prime contractor-dominated, low-competition defense industrial base to a future powered by dynamic vendor space”, meaningful nuance for investors: the primes win, but so could the scalers.

Here are nine names positioned for the ramp.

Munitions and Missile Makers

Lockheed Martin (LMT)

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) signed framework agreements to scale production of Patriot, THAAD, and PrSM by “3-4 times current rates.” Missiles and Fire Control revenue grew 8% YoY to $3.649 billion in Q1 2026 per the company’s SEC filing. Shares trade at $510.95, up 6.89% YTD, with a forward P/E of 18.

RTX (RTX)

RTX (NYSE:RTX) owns the Patriot franchise. Raytheon revenue rose 10% YoY to $6.945 billion with adjusted operating profit up 25%. Backlog stands at $271 billion, including $109 billion in defense. The stock is up 29.27% over the past year.

General Dynamics (GD)

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) is the ordnance and artillery play. Combat Systems revenue rose 4.9% to $2.28 billion, with total backlog at $188.4 billion and a 2-to-1 book-to-bill.

Northrop Grumman (NOC)

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) makes tactical solid rocket motors and the Sentinel ICBM, at the center of the bottleneck Hegseth’s budget addresses. Shares are down 7.83% YTD, trading at a forward P/E near 19, with an analyst target of $696.95.

L3Harris (LHX)

L3Harris (NYSE:LHX) owns Aerojet Rocketdyne, the solid-rocket-motor supplier the budget names. Missile Solutions revenue grew 18% YoY to $990 million, and management is planning a public offering of the segment.

Kratos Defense (KTOS)

Kratos Defense (NASDAQ:KTOS) is the “dynamic vendor” archetype. CEO Eric DeMarco cited a “generational recapitalization of the U.S. defense industrial base” and projected FY27 National Security spend of $1.5 trillion. Shares trade at $54.21, down 28.59% YTD despite a forward P/E of 145, making it the highest-risk, highest-torque name in this cohort.

Supply Chain and Raw Materials

MP Materials (MP)

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) operates Mountain Pass and produces NdFeB magnets essential for missile guidance. Magnetics revenue surged 306%, and shares are up 63.57% over the past year.

ATI (ATI)

ATI (NYSE:ATI) supplies titanium and nickel alloys for jet engines and missile airframes. Aerospace and defense is 69% of sales. The stock has surged 75.44% YTD.

United States Antimony (UAMY)

United States Antimony (NYSE:UAMY) is the sole domestic antimony processor, with $12 million in Defense Logistics Agency orders and FY26 revenue guidance of $125 million. Shares are up 170.69% over the past year. Speculative, volatile, and tied directly to U.S. critical-mineral independence.

The Risks Investors Should Weigh

Defense valuations have run. Delivery delays Dougherty highlights are a risk for every prime here. Programs face political and budget risk between administrations. The administration is also reportedly tightening oversight of defense-contractor shareholder returns via executive order, a potential headwind to buybacks and dividends even as revenue demand climbs. Small caps like UAMY and KTOS carry outsized volatility. Still, with a year-long tailwind in place with inventories dwindling down, investors may want to look at this space.

Especially with supply chain plays, demand drivers come not only from defense needs, but also from AI demand for supplies like titanium or metals like silver and copper.

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