Defense industrial base revitalization
by Jolyon: Donald Trump
USDAS Duffey says Raytheon, Lockheed, and other companies are investing billions of their own money to expand plants, lock down supply chains, and build the workforce for key weapons at multiples of previous levels. A billion-dollar Tomahawk contract was announced as a multiple compared to the Biden administration era, following Lockheed's investment in the Patriot announcement two weeks prior. The deal creates 3,000 jobs in Tucson, Arizona while keeping the unit price constant over a seven-year period. President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, and Chairman Cain have stated readiness for sustained efforts.
Transcript (en)
If the president says tomorrow we're going to have this sustained effort inside Iran, do we have the munitions to make that happen? Well, I think President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, Chairman Cain have all stated clearly, we are ready. The U.S. military can defeat any threat at the time and place of our choosing, and I think that remains true today. Okay, because that's what I was going to ask you. You told Congress in March, we have the weapons we need. But that was five months ago. You've got 55 days bombing the Houthis, 13 days defending Israel, and now five and a half months and counting in contact with Iran. You still believe what you said there? Well, I do. And I think that's why yesterday's announcement is such a demonstration that President Trump, Secretary Hagseth, are committed to rebuilding the military, revitalizing the defense industrial base, so that from now and for the future, we will have the weapons that we need. The announcement you talking about is the billion Tomahawk contract Why is that significant How many missiles does that buy and when are they usable It's significant for a number of reasons. Number one, it's a multiple of production of what we've seen since the Biden administration. The president has made it clear to industry that we can't do it without him. We need them to step up. And I believe this deal demonstrates they're stepping up on a number of fronts. Number one, we have convinced industry, not just Raytheon, but Lockheed in the Patriot announcement two weeks ago, to invest billions of dollars of their own money to build the workforce, the supply chains, the factories that we need to get multiples of production of these key munitions. Not only have we incentivized industry to put the money forward, much like a commercial business would, we've been able to hold the unit price constant over that seven-year period. And thirdly, we're creating jobs, 3,000 jobs out of this deal alone in Tucson, Arizona, to train the workforce that will be able to produce these weapons for the next generation of warfare.
