Trump threatens to nix Raytheon's defense contracts

President Trump threatened to kneecap a division of RTX, the world's second-largest defense contractor, if it did not step up and invest in "plants and equipment."Why it matters: This was the most specific in a series of warnings Trump sent out to American defense firms on Wednesday, ordering them to cap executive pay, halt all dividends and stock buybacks, and speed up production. Such interventions from the commander-in-chief are highly unusual.It was also unclear how Trump could enforce such dictates on private companies, though his subsequent threat to Raytheon suggested he may cut federal contracts to firms he sees as out of compliance.Trump's threats come amid a prolonged debate about the health of America's defense manufacturing base, and the gap between global demand for certain weapons and current output.Driving the news: Trump in a Truth Social post said Raytheon "has been the least responsive to the needs" of the Defense Department and must quickly reprioritize if it wants to keep doing business with it."Raytheon seems to think this is the Biden Administration, and this is 'business as usual,' IT'S NOT!" he said in the post.RTX did not immediately respond to questions from Axios.Follow the money: RTX company logged $43.5 billion in defense-related revenue in 2024, according to the Defense News Top 100 list. (Only Lockheed Martin made more.)Zoom in: The company makes many popular weapons and munitions, including Stinger air defenses, Coyote drone interceptors and Tomahawk missiles.It is also developing a nuclear cruise missile for the U.S. Air Force that is expected to be wielded by B-52 bombers.Go deeper: Lockheed and RTX ink multibillion-dollar missile deals