Defense procurement

Defense in 2017: Disruption Is the Operative Word

The defense industry is buckling up for the roller-coaster ride that is likely to be the Trump administration. 

The sector has been stumped by President-elect Donald Trump’s morsels of policy stances revealed in tweets over the past month. Shots fired against the F-35 and defense contractors in general — suggesting a broader campaign may be waged against big-ticket military procurements and Pentagon contracting practices — are hard to square with his rhetoric in favor of a bigger Navy, a modernized nuclear arsenal and a stronger military overall. The guessing continues on whether he will be a Reaganesque hawk, a slash-and-burn reformer, or if he will back off from past rhetoric once he is in the Oval Office and must deal with Congress and the world at large. Or all of the above.

An apparent lack of consistency in the incoming president’s defense and foreign policy positions so far is creating both anticipation and dread.