Pete Hegseth Delivers 'Arsenal of Freedom' Speech at SpaceX

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth traveled to Brownsville and Fort Worth on Tuesday as part of his ongoing "Arsenal of Freedom" tour, visiting SpaceX and Lockheed Martin while delivering his third major speech since assuming office.

The visit highlighted the administration's push to accelerate American defense manufacturing and rapidly integrate artificial intelligence into U.S. warfighting capabilities.

At SpaceX, Secretary Hegseth addressed company leadership and employees alongside Elon Musk, praising the private sectors role in strengthening the nation's Defense Industrial Base (DIB).

He also administered the oath of enlistment to future service members, highlighting the connection between industrial innovation and those who ultimately deploy U.S.-made capabilities on the battlefield.

"For too long, Pentagon bureaucracy has hindered the speed and might of our manufacturing base," the Deparment of War said in a statement, arguing that outdated processes have slowed innovation from companies critical to national defense.

Under President Donald Trump's Leadership, they said,  the War Department is focused on unleashing industry to deliver "American-made equipment at the speed of relevance."

A central focus of Hegseth's remarks was artificial intelligence. He emphasized the role of the department's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO), led by Cameron Stanley, an Air Force veteran with private-sector experience, in meeting the AI objectives outlined in President Trump's executive order.

"Speed wins; speed dominates," said Hegseth. "[The] team at CDAO will define AI deployment velocity metrics for all the pace-setting projects in the next 30 days, and report at least monthly after that. These will become the new benchmarks for programs across the department."

He added that bureaucratic obstacles to AI adoption will now be treated as operational risks, not administrative issues.

"We will take a wartime approach to people and policies that block this progress," said Hegseth, noting the creation of a "barrier removal SWAT team" empowered to waive non-statutory requirements and escalate delays.

Hegseth also outlined plans to expand government-owned computing power on military installations and to tap private capital for AI infrastructure. He announced that Social Media Platform X's AI model, Grok, would be joining the AI tools available to department personnel.

The visit was a part of Hegseth's "Arsenal of Freedom" tour occurring in Texas as part of a broader effort to ensure long-term U.S. military dominance.