President says he wants to raise military budget to $1.5tn and accuses US defense companies of delivery failures

Donald Trump has claimed he plans to crack down on executive compensation and shareholder payouts at military defense contractors, as his administration looks to dramatically ramp up spending on the armed forces.

In a series of posts on social media, the US president said he wants to increase the military budget to $1.5tn – and complained that defense giants had been failing to swiftly deliver “vital” equipment to the US and its allies across the world.