The 2018 $717 billion Department of Defense budget included more than 20,000 more troops, 90 new F-35s, a $4 billion missile defense system and the creation of the Space Corps as a new arm of the Air Force. That budget was big news for defense contractors here in the United States, but doesn’t tell the entire story of how strong 2018 has been for them:

Exports of U.S.-made weapon systems increased 13% over the last year following a concerted effort by the Trump administration to boost the transfers in support of the defense industrial base, the State Department said Thursday.While not the highest sales figures ever posted, officials said they expected sales to continue rising as the U.S. links its economic and security policies.“We’re very happy with these numbers, and we expect significant momentum and an upward trajectory of these numbers, given that a lot of these reforms will continue over the next years,” a senior State Department official told The Wall Street Journal.Total exports in fiscal 2018 reached $192.3 billion, up from $170 billion in fiscal 2017 and $148.6 billion in fiscal 2016.

Read Full Article on WSJ (Paid): U.S. Weapons Transfers, Pushed by Trump, Rise by 13% – WSJ

The increasingly turbulent and interconnected world is driving governments across the globe to shoe up their military defense systems, and increasingly they are turning to the United States and its advanced weaponry systems, which only adds another significant tailwind for the Tematica Safety & Security investment theme.