Trump Signs Orders to Boost Arms Procurement and Shipbuilding, Streamline Arms Sales

The president directs the Pentagon to boost both private and public investment in the shipbuilding industry.

Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) man the rails as the ship departs Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding for builder's sea trials off the U.S. East Coast, in Newport News, Va., on April 8, 2017. Chief Mass Communication Specialist Christopher Delano/U.S. Navy via Getty Images

President Donald Trump signed a raft of new executive orders on April 9, including three prioritizing U.S. shipbuilding, other military procurement projects, and streamlining the process for transferring weapons systems to allies.

The trio of executive orders comes as the Trump administration is working to revamp U.S. military-industrial capacity and prepare military allies and partners to take on a greater share of the burden in shared foreign policy objectives.

Shipbuilding is a particular concern amid growing strategic competition with China.

China has been rapidly expanding its naval battle force and by 2020 had overtaken the United States as the largest naval force by sheer number of ships in service. Its navy is continuing to grow its lead.

As of the latest U.S. Defense Department report to Congress in December 2024, the Chinese naval force consisted of more than 370 ships and submarines.

By comparison, the U.S. Navy had 297 ships in its battle force as of September 2024.

“We’re way, way, way behind,” Trump said at the Oval Office signing ceremony on April 9. “We used to build a ship a day, and now we don’t build a ship a year, practically.”

According to a White House fact sheet, Trump’s order directs the Pentagon to evaluate options to boost both private and public investment in the shipbuilding industry.

Under the order, the Trump administration will look for ways to boost private industry competition for government contracts, in hopes of driving down costs.

Trump’s order covers several other initiatives to bolster the U.S. maritime industry more broadly, including boosting U.S. Merchant Marine training and establishing Maritime Prosperity Zones to incentivize waterfront communities to support maritime operations.

As with shipbuilding, Trump is also hoping to speed along the process of fielding other weapons systems.

A White House fact sheet stated that the program to deliver a new Air Force One model is five years behind schedule, nine Navy ship programs are at least three years behind schedule, and the Air Force’s program to replace its aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles is 37 percent over its original budget.

“With adversaries like China and Russia rapidly advancing their own military technologies, it is essential to prioritize speed, flexibility, and innovation to deliver cutting-edge capabilities to our Armed Forces,” the White House stated.

Trump’s order on military procurement calls for the Pentagon to identify and remove redundant tasks in the procurement process, and prioritize commercial options to fulfill orders and projects that may be in the works.

Additionally, the Pentagon is directed to reorganize its acquisition workforce and train employees to identify more-efficient methods to advance procurement projects.

The order also specifically directs a review of all Major Defense Acquisition Programs.

A White House fact sheet stated that any program that’s either 15 percent or more behind schedule—or 15 percent or more over budget—will be considered for cancellation.

Foreign Arms Sales

To bolster military cooperation with allies and partners, Trump’s order calls for the Departments of Defense, State, and Commerce to provide a plan to streamline the approval process and improve transparency around arms sales within 90 days.

Trump’s order also instructs the Department of Defense and the Department of State to create a list of priority partners for future arms sales.

Trump has repeatedly urged many allies, particularly in NATO, to boost their military spending.

The White House said this order will help to reduce delays in arms transfers, enabling allies and partners to more quickly procure weapons and “in turn facilitating more effective joint operations as well as greater burden-sharing.”

Along with boosting its allies and partners, the White House said this order will benefit the United States “by fostering stronger American supply chains, domestic production levels, and technological development.”

While the Trump administration is still hoping to facilitate arms sales to NATO allies, many European members of the alliance are looking at ways to boost defense production capabilities within Europe and reduce their reliance on the United States.