I do believe that POTUS is displaying his ability to break the back of the military-industrial complex. Okay... not break, but tweak it harshly. He's delivering a message, and doing some house-cleaning at the same time.

It's like sending the lobbyists home. It hits manufacturers where it hurts, in-the-wallet. Thereby sending a message; "I've been good for you (dumping money into defense spending), and you have not reciprocated, so here's your reward... fuckers."