Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tells lawmakers that claims about a looming U.S. munitions stockpile shortage are exaggerated. In Senate Armed Service Committee testimony earlier this year, Hegseth describes what he calls a “manufactured story” about the United States facing a lack of munitions. He also points to the time required to replenish inventory, saying that rebuilding or restocking the stockpile could take “months and years.” The accounts provided do not detail the specific munitions involved, the size of any projected shortfall, or the source of the original shortage claims. However, they agree on Hegseth’s central message: that the narrative around the shortage is overstated and that any replenishment effort would take significant time due to production and procurement timelines. The reports therefore focus on the dispute over how severe the munitions stockpile problem is, and on the estimate that restoring capacity would not be immediate.