Hegseth to Push Rebuild of the 'Arsenal of Freedom' at Reagan National Defense Forum

Hegseth to Highlight Rebuilding the "Arsenal of Freedom"

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is scheduled to deliver a keynote address Saturday at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, centering his remarks on an effort to rebuild what he calls the "arsenal of freedom." In the days before the speech, Hegseth posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) showing tours of defense-related facilities in California.

In the video, Hegseth said the department is moving away from what he described as "vendor-locked, prime-dominated, closed architecture, cost-plus" procurement models. He said the department will instead emphasize competition, rapid timelines, open architectures, innovation and tighter cost control, framing those changes as part of a broader mission commitment.

"The era of vendor-locked, prime-dominated, closed architecture, cost plus is over. We're going to compete. We're going to move fast. We're going to do open architecture. We're going to innovate. We're going to scale. We're going to do it at cost. Because this is a commitment to a mission," Hegseth said in the video.

Addressing the civilian workforce and defense contractors who support the department, Hegseth emphasized that their work is essential to deployed forces. "Whether you're a vet or not who served already, all of you are serving the Department of War, the American people and the arsenal of freedom," he said, adding that today's warfighters depend on the capabilities developed and produced by that broader team.

Hegseth warned that U.S. forces would not be able to meet operational demands "in far-flung places, in dangerous moments, in the dead of night" without advanced technical capabilities underwritten by the industrial base and research community.

He stressed that the "arsenal of freedom" extends beyond uniformed personnel: "It's in folks in civilian clothes all across the country who are also putting in the work 24/7, to out-compete, out-innovate and out-manufacture our opponents," Hegseth declared.

The Reagan National Defense Forum is being held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley and brings together lawmakers, current and former administration officials, senior military leaders, industry executives and technology innovators to review defense policy in the context of global threats.

Hegseth's speech is listed to begin at approximately 2:50 p.m. ET. Other notable speakers at the forum included Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget; Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee; Emil Michael, Under Secretary for Research and Engineering; and Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

The remarks come amid a broader stated shift in priorities toward modern technologies and capabilities such as artificial intelligence, hypersonics and directed energy as part of the department's strategic overhaul.