WASHINGTON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would not permit dividends or stock buybacks for defense companies until they ‌fix problems with the production of military equipment.

"Defense Companies ​are not producing our Great Military Equipment ‍rapidly enough and, once produced, ⁠not maintaining ⁠it properly or quickly," Trump said in a post ‌on Truth Social.

Trump ​also called executive pay packages in the defense industry "exorbitant and unjustifiable."

"From this ⁠moment forward, these ‍Executives ​must build NEW and MODERN Production Plants, both for delivering and maintaining this important ‍Equipment, and for building the latest Models of future Military Equipment," he said, without naming any specific companies or executives.

"Until they do so, no Executive should ​be ‍allowed to make in excess of $5 Million Dollars which, as high as ​it sounds, is a mere fraction of what they are making now."Trump and the Pentagon have been complaining about the expensive, slow-moving and entrenched nature of the defense industry, promising ​dramatic changes that would make the production of war equipment more nimble.