Trump takes aim at defense contractors as he looks to speed arms production

By Brett Rowland
The Center Square

President Donald Trump criticized U.S. defense contractors on Tuesday, saying that he wants to produce the advanced weapons that the U.S. relies on for military dominance more quickly.

Trump’s comments came as he spoke about the U.S. special forces strike that captured longtime Venezuela leader Nicolás Maduro, who faces drug and weapons charges in the U.S.

“Nobody has our weapons,” Trump said. “The problem is we don’t produce them fast enough. We’re going to start producing them much faster. We’re going to be very tough on the companies.”

Trump said U.S. military might depends on these companies.

“We have the best weapons in the world, but it takes too long to get them,” he said. “Including allies. When allies want to buy them, they have to wait four years for a plane. Five years for a helicopter. We’re not letting that happen any more. We’re telling our defense contractors: You’re going to start building faster.”

The president spoke plainly: “I have a big problem with it.”

In November, the National Defense Industrial Association, a trade group, praised efforts to ramp up production.

“Paving a smoother process and compliance path will have a positive effect on the speed at which the defense industrial base meets the moment in support of our warfighters and our foreign partners,” the group said in a statement at the time.

During a January 2025 hearing, defense contractors urged Congress to take action.

Margaret Boatner, of the Aerospace Industries Association, noted a 2024 study from the Government Accountability Office that found the average amount of time for major defense acquisition programs to deliver capability was 11 years.

That raises costs for taxpayers.

Last June, the GAO reported that “major weapon costs continue to rise as DOD struggles to deliver innovative tech quickly.”

Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, the head of the GAO, said at the time that the warning bells were growing louder.

“Our findings over my 15 years have grown increasingly dire,” he wrote in a letter to Congress. “DOD weapon systems continue to cost more and take even longer to deliver, notwithstanding recent reforms.”

That GAO report noted that “DOD plans to invest nearly $2.4 trillion to develop and acquire its costliest weapon programs. But it continues to struggle with delivering timely and effective solutions to the warfighter.”

Trump has made military production a priority and has used tariffs as leverage to try to bring back more manufacturing to the U.S.

More recently, he has focused on shipbuilding. Last month, Trump announced the U.S. would be building two new battleships to be part of the Navy’s “Golden Fleet.”