Trump administration seeks record $1.5tn defence budget

Washington: US President Donald Trump has said that his administration would seek a $1.5 trillion defence budget, describing it as a necessary investment to modernise the military, accelerate weapons production and strengthen America’s industrial base amid growing global security challenges.

Speaking at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit on Wednesday (local time), Trump said the proposed spending plan would build on what he described as record military investments already made during his presidency.

“Under the Trump administration, we’ve invested a record $1 trillion in the United States military,” Trump said. “And next year, I’m proud to say… $1.5 trillion we’re going up to. We need it. It’s all made in the USA.”

The President argued that expanding defence spending would not only strengthen national security but also create manufacturing jobs across the country by increasing production of ships, submarines, aircraft, missiles and advanced military systems.

“But $1.5 trillion, I built the military in my first term, and I used it in my second term,” he said.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called the proposed budget a historic investment that would reshape the Pentagon for a new era of warfare driven by artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, quantum technologies and space capabilities.

“This is a generational investment in the future of our warfighting capabilities that our country has not seen since Ronald Reagan,” Hegseth said. “And this one is bigger.”

He said the Defence Department was overhauling procurement practices to encourage greater competition and innovation while reducing bureaucracy.

“Our bureaucracy was built to keep most of you out,” Hegseth said. “We’ve been waging a war of attrition against the Pentagon bureaucracy to open up the aperture and make sure competition and speed and innovation and commercial options have a seat at the table.”

Trump also urged major defence contractors to expand manufacturing capacity more quickly, saying faster production was as important as technological superiority.

“We have the best quality in the world, but we need a little more speed,” he said while referring to submarines, missiles and other military systems.

The summit featured announcements of nearly $10 billion in new defence-related investments across Pennsylvania, including projects involving shipbuilding, submarine production, missile manufacturing, robotics, artificial intelligence and energy technologies. Senior executives from General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Hanwha Defense USA, Blackstone and JPMorgan Chase joined administration officials to outline new investments linked to the defence industrial base.

Hegseth said the administration was determined to ensure that emerging technology companies could compete alongside established defence contractors.

“If you’re ahead now and you get ahead of the game, you’re going to be way ahead,” he said. “If you fall behind now, you fall even further behind.”

The proposed defence budget would require Congressional approval as part of the annual appropriations process.

The administration has argued that increased spending is necessary to modernise ageing military infrastructure, expand production capacity and maintain the United States’ technological advantage in an increasingly competitive global security environment.

IANS