Small proposed US defence hike dismays firms

Washington

THE people who make jets, aircraft carriers and surveillance technology for the US military thought they were going to cash in when Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton on Election Day. Now they're not so sure.

In a significant shift from the early months of the Trump presidency - when a bomber-jacket-clad Mr Trump promised a "historic" rebuilding of the military from the deck of an aircraft carrier - top military brass are now saying the buildup likely won't come this year, or even the next.

"We didn't get into this situation in one year, and we aren't going to get out of it in one year," Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in a June 12 congressional hearing. "We're going to have sustained growth in 2019 to 2023." The comments came as some Repub…