Trump calls for increasing US military spending by more than 50% to $1.5 trillion & more related News Here

President Donald Trump has called for US defense spending to increase to $1.5tn (£1.1tn) in 2027 in what he has called “this very troubling and dangerous time”.

That would be 50% more than this year’s $901 billion budget, which was approved by Congress in December.

“It will allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ we have long deserved, and more importantly, it will keep us safe regardless of the enemy,” Trump said on social media Wednesday.

In separate posts, the president said he would freeze payments to owners and shareholders of major US defense contractors unless the companies speed up arms deliveries and build new manufacturing plants.

Shares of major US defense equipment makers Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon rose more than 5% in extended trading in New York trading following Trump’s announcements.

Economists have previously warned that the gap between US spending and its income has reached unsustainable levels.

But Trump said Washington could “easily overwhelm” his proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget thanks to the money the tariffs would bring.

Since his first term in the White House, Trump has been pushing for higher defense spending by the US and its allies.

In another post on Wednesday, he said military equipment was not being made so quickly and urged companies to build new and modern plants.

Defense companies are issuing “massive” payouts to shareholders and stock buybacks at the expense of investments in production, Trump said. He also criticized the “exorbitant” pay packages of executives at arms manufacturers.

“No executive should be allowed to earn more than $5 million dollars, which, as high as it sounds, is a fraction of what they are earning now.”

In a separate post, Trump took aim at Raytheon, saying it was the “least responsive” to America’s defense needs and the slowest to increase production.

“Either Raytheon steps up and starts investing in more upfront investments like plants and equipment, or they will no longer do business with the War Department,” Trump wrote in a separate post.

The BBC has contacted Raytheon for comment.

Trump’s call for much higher defense spending comes as geopolitical tensions rise around the world.

On Wednesday, US forces seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker suspected of violating US sanctions.

It came as US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro over the weekend and took him to the US to face drug trafficking charges.

In December, China conducted military exercises around Taiwan, simulating the seizure and blockade of key areas of the island, as a warning against “separatist forces”.

Taiwan’s pressure to boost its defense this year has also angered Beijing, which claims the self-ruled island as its territory.