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Commander-in-Chief: Donald Trump On Defence

After a bitterly fought election campaign Donald J. Trump has triumphed against the odds and is now President-elect of the United States of America.

Come January, when President Obama steps down, Mr Trump will also become Commander-in-Chief of the world's most powerful military.

So what can we expect from the new President when it comes to defence?

Unlike Hillary Clinton, when it comes to the US military Donald Trump has been keener to talk numbers; proposing a swelling of the ranks with 90,000 more soldiers, 42 more ships and a 100 additional fighter aircraft to be paid for by reversing cuts made to defence spending in 2013, with an estimated potential $500 billion reinvestment over the next decade.

ANALYSIS: Trump, Timing, Terror And Fighting Talk

Speaking during the presidential campaign Mr Trump said: "History shows that when America is not prepared is when the danger is greatest. We want to deter, avoid and prevent conflict through our unquestioned military dominance,"

"I'm gonna build a military that's gonna be much stronger than it is right now. It's gonna be so strong, nobody's gonna mess with us. But you know what? We can do it for a lot less."

The President-elect has also vowed to help fund military spending by making countries where the U.S. military has bases, such as Japan, Germany and Saudi Arabia, pay more for the umbrella of protection.

And then there's NATO, an organisation which the President-elect has been highly critical of, calling it "obsolete" and declaring that it is costing America "a fortune".

COMMENT: Why Donald Trump Is Dumping On NATO

While Donald Trump has stopped short of actually saying the US should pull out altogether he has said: "In NATO, for instance, only four of 28 other member countries besides America, are spending the minimum required 2 percent of GDP on defense."

"We have spent trillions of dollars over time on planes, missiles, ships, equipment, building up our military to provide a strong defense for Europe and Asia. The countries we are defending must pay for the cost of this defense, and if not, the U.S. must be prepared to let these countries defend themselves. We have no choice."

On rogue states such as North Korea Mr Trump has also been vocal, suggesting back in June that he'd be happy to host talks with Kim Jong-un in America if he were to visit: "Who the hell cares? I'll speak to anybody."

"There's a 10% or 20% chance I could talk him out of having his damn nukes, because who the hell wants him to have nukes? If he came here, I would accept him. But I wouldn't give him a state dinner like China or all these other nations who are ripping us off."

As for Iran, the international deal to control its nuclear programme has been described by the President-elect as “one of the worst ever made.. in history."

READ: US Defence Secretary Writes Trump Letter To All Personnel Following Vote

Cuba has already announced it is to hold five days of military exercises to prepare for possible "enemy actions" - Trump has promised to reverse Barack Obama's decision to re-establish diplomatic contact with Havana in a bid to begin normalising the relationship between the two old foes.

Finally there's Russia and President Putin, one of the first world leaders to congratulate Mr Trump on his victory and declare that he looked forward to "mutual cooperation" on international issues. While never explicitly pro-Russian Trump has spoken of his admiration for Vladimir Putin, avoided criticism about the invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, and talked about the need for the US to work with Russia to defeat Islamic State.