President Donald Trump has called for US defense spending to increase to $1.5tn (£1.1tn) by 2027 for what he called “these very turbulent and dangerous times”.
That would be more than 50% higher than this year’s $901bn budget, which Congress approved in December.
“This will allow us to build the “Dream Military” we have long been entitled to and, more importantly, make us SAFE and SECURE, regardless of the enemy,” Trump said on social media Wednesday.
In separate posts, the president said he would withhold payments to bosses and shareholders of major US defense contractors unless the companies speed up arms deliveries and build new manufacturing plants.
Economists have previously warned that the gap between US spending and its income has reached unsustainable levels.
But Trump said Washington could “quickly hit” his proposed $1.5tn defense budget thanks to the money brought in by the tariffs.
Trump has pushed for higher defense spending by the US and its allies since his first term in the White House.
On Wednesday, he said that the US defense giant, Raytheon, was the “least responsive” to America’s defense needs and the slowest to increase production.
“Either Raytheon steps up and starts investing in higher Investments like Plants and Equipment, or they stop doing business with the War Department,” Trump wrote in a separate post.
The BBC has contacted Raytheon for comment.