Pete Hegseth said the United States and its allies must urgently lead in technology and innovation to preserve freedom and the Western tradition, arguing that failure to act now would risk losing strategic advantage to adversaries.

Hegseth framed the issue as a defining challenge for national security, stressing the need to equip American warriors with modern tools and to move at a pace comparable to wartime mobilization.

Hegseth said the effort requires close cooperation between government and the private sector, describing a renewed industrial push as essential to maintaining U.S. strength.

“We will not back down. We will forge the new arsenal of freedom with our partners in industry, in the private sector,” Hegseth said.

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Image Credit: © Win McNamee-Pool via Imagn Images
Mar 4, 2025; Washington, DC, USA; (L-R) U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio listen as U.S. President Donald Trump address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. Vice President JD Vance and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) applaud behind him. President Trump was expected to address Congress on his early achievements of his presidency and his upcoming legislative agenda. Mandatory Credit: Win McNamee-Pool via Imagn Images

He argued that technological leadership will determine the future balance of power and warned that the responsibility falls on nations committed to freedom.

“We believe the future will be shaped by those who lead in technology and innovation. We don't believe we know those who fervently believe in freedom and the Western tradition, like we do, must be those leaders,” he said.

Hegseth said the stakes are immediate and questioned who would step forward if the United States and its allies failed to act.

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“If not us, if not America, if not the West, then who and if not now, it will be too late to maintain that advantage,” he said.

He emphasized that the push for innovation is not about bureaucratic change or restructuring for its own sake, but about ensuring military readiness in an era of rapidly evolving threats.

“This is not reform for the sake of reform. It never has been this is about whether our warriors fight with yesterday's tools or they fight over matching our adversaries using tomorrow's technologies,” Hegseth said.

Hegseth said the nature of modern conflict demands urgency, clarity, and decisive action, noting that both the risks and opportunities are already clear.

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“We know the threat, we know the opportunity. We know what must be done. We share the urgency,” he said.

He concluded by calling for immediate execution at a pace he described as essential to national survival.

“Now. We will do it, and we must do it at wartime speed,” Hegseth said.

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