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WSJ What’s News

Pentagon Asks Carmakers to Boost Weapons Production

WSJ What’s News

The Wall Street Journal

Daily News, News

4.14.2K Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2026

⏱️ 13 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A.M. Edition for April 16. Washington dusts off its World War II playbook, asking manufacturers like GM and Ford to ramp up weapons production. Plus, we look at why pricier fuel is putting Spirit Airlines’ future in doubt. And Europe drafts a plan to protect the Strait of Hormuz after fighting stops. But as WSJ’s Max Colchester explains, it risks agitating President Trump who has appealed for immediate help with the Iran war. Luke Vargas hosts.  Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:32.6

Washington dusts off its World War II playbook, asking manufacturers like GM and Ford to ramp up weapons

0:39.9

production. Plus, why pricier fuel is putting Spirit Airlines' future in doubt, and Europe

0:47.0

drafts a plan to protect the Strait of Hormuz after fighting stops, ignoring President Trump's

0:53.0

appeal for immediate help.

0:54.6

The chance is that he sees this plan that Europe has cooked up as something of a nothing

1:00.0

burger and that it actually ends up just irating him further and further alienating the U.S.

1:07.0

from Europe.

1:08.0

It's Thursday, April 16th.

1:10.0

I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal,

1:12.0

and here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your

1:17.2

world today. The Trump administration is pressing U.S. manufacturers to massively boost

1:24.1

weapons production, framing the push as a matter of national security.

1:28.5

We're exclusively reporting that senior defense officials have held wide-ranging talks with

1:32.4

executives at Ford, GM, GE Aerospace, and Oshkosh, as part of the latest effort to put

1:37.9

military manufacturing on what Defense Secretary Pete Hankseth has called a wartime footing.

...

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