As the Trump administration expands its military arsenal and the Iran war continues to consume US weapons stocks, the Pentagon is speeding up the expansion of the defense industry's production capacity through huge multi-year contracts. On Wednesday alone, the US Department of Defense awarded two large-scale contracts totaling about 135 billion US dollars to major military companies. More broadly, the Trump administration has also requested a total defense budget of $1.5 trillion, calling it an “intergenerational investment” for future wars. The US Army announced the signing of a seven-year agreement worth 59 billion US dollars with Lockheed Martin to expand the production capacity of the “Patriots” interceptor ammunition. Such missiles are in high demand in the Middle East conflict, yet they are difficult to quickly replenish. Meanwhile, the Pentagon also announced the award of contracts totaling up to 76.6 billion US dollars to General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. to expand the scale of construction of America's main nuclear submarines and upgrade shipyard infrastructure. The relevant contract includes the construction of 9 new-model “Block VI” Virginia-class attack nuclear submarines, and their “Tomahawk” cruise missile carrying capacity was further enhanced. The contract also covers an additional 5 of the 12 planned Colombian class strategic nuclear submarines. After the news was announced, GM shares rose 2.6% after the New York market, Huntington Ingalls rose 3.9%, and Lockheed Martin rose 0.5%.

As the Trump administration expands its military arsenal and the Iran war continues to consume US weapons stocks, the Pentagon is speeding up the expansion of the defense industry's production capacity through huge multi-year contracts. On Wednesday alone, the US Department of Defense awarded two large-scale contracts totaling about 135 billion US dollars to major military companies. More broadly, the Trump administration has also requested a total defense budget of $1.5 trillion, calling it an “intergenerational investment” for future wars. The US Army announced the signing of a seven-year agreement worth 59 billion US dollars with Lockheed Martin to expand the production capacity of the “Patriots” interceptor ammunition. Such missiles are in high demand in the Middle East conflict, yet they are difficult to quickly replenish. Meanwhile, the Pentagon also announced the award of contracts totaling up to 76.6 billion US dollars to General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. to expand the scale of construction of America's main nuclear submarines and upgrade shipyard infrastructure. The relevant contract includes the construction of 9 new-model “Block VI” Virginia-class attack nuclear submarines, and their “Tomahawk” cruise missile carrying capacity was further enhanced. The contract also covers an additional 5 of the 12 planned Colombian class strategic nuclear submarines. After the news was announced, GM shares rose 2.6% after the New York market, Huntington Ingalls rose 3.9%, and Lockheed Martin rose 0.5%.