JANUARY 12, 2026 – Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited a Los Angeles County-based company that has a space-based mission and a history of supporting the U.S. military.
The visit to Southern California was the second in Hegseth’s recently launched, monthlong “Arsenal of Freedom” campaign, which aims to promote one of the War Department’s top priorities: rebuilding the military by engaging with the defense industrial base at various stops throughout the country.
“You are the foundation of our defense industrial base — the foundation of great American manufacturers — who we trust to usher in that new golden age of peace through strength under President Trump,” Hegseth told the crowd. “The United States is deadly serious about commanding the ultimate high ground of space, a larger, more modern and more capable constellation of American satellites launched by American rockets from American soil, built by American engineers.”
He also spoke in strong terms about the speed — or lack thereof — with which he and President Donald J. Trump view the DIB has been operating during recent years, especially as it relates to space capabilities.
“More than 60 years ago, President [John F.] Kennedy declared our nation’s intent to go to the moon,” Hegseth said, before quoting Kennedy’s famous 1962 speech at Rice University.
“He famously said, ‘We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do other things; not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills,'” Hegseth said.
“This is the spirit that you are in the process of reviving,” he added, before reminding the crowd that the War Department is “flipping the script” and no longer resting on the familiar, easy process, which he said has been the norm in recent years.
“Our job is to disrupt the ‘status quo,’ which is insufficient. [We need to ensure] we have the American manufacturing base that is required to be the world’s superpower,” the secretary told the crowd.
“We have your back, and we know that you have ours as well. And, together, we will restore our nation’s strength and guarantee peace for generations to come.”
By Matthew Olay, Pentagon News