US legislators have proposed a bill to establish ammunition production and storage facilities on the former Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines to address concerns about the lack of a forward weapons manufacturing center in the Indo-Pacific region.
According to US Naval Institute News (USNI News), the House Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee in its report on the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act referred to this procurement initiative as “Indo-Pacific Ammunition Manufacturing.”
The report expressed concern about the lack of a forward ammunition manufacturing facility in the Indo-Pacific region and directed the Department of Defense, State Department, and the US International Development Finance Corporation to assess the feasibility of establishing a joint ammunition manufacturing and storage facility at the former Subic Bay Naval Base.
Although the United States officially withdrew from this strategically significant Philippine port in 1992, in recent years, the importance of this former naval base has grown as Washington and Manila have strengthened defense cooperation to counter Chinese expansion in the South China Sea and the Luzon Strait.
The US Navy plans to lease storage facilities in and around Subic Bay to support the Marine Corps’ new pre-positioning program in the Philippines. US Navy warships and logistics vessels have also undergone maintenance at the bay’s shipyards.
The joint ammunition production plan was proposed following the revitalization of the defense industry base in Manila under the Self-Reliant Defense Posture Revitalization Act. This law aims to develop the Philippine industry to promote the country’s military modernization.
“This is a commitment to the long-term growth of the defense industry that will support our nation’s defense needs,” said Philippine President Marcos when he signed the law last fall. “For a country at the center of geopolitical shifts and turbulence, this is a logical step.”
US and Philippine defense planners have identified joint defense industrial base cooperation as a priority for the coming years.
During a visit to Manila, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth released a statement outlining a shared vision for defense industrial cooperation between the US and the Philippines, with ammunition components and energetics identified as one of the “highest-potential near-term areas of collaboration.”
The House Appropriations Committee further specified in its report that the new program covers ammunition storage, full-scale production, and logistics.
The ammunition facility is expected to preposition “ammunition stocks and associated materials such as nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, and acid.” These compounds are essential raw materials for producing explosives and ammunition.
Legislators have instructed the Defense Secretary to provide the latest updates on the feasibility study within 60 days of the enactment of the appropriation act. If implemented, this facility would be one of the most significant defense investments by the US in the Philippines since the end of the Cold War.