PROVIDENCE – In Rhode Island on Monday, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth touted the need for competition and speed from companies supplying the nation’s military, saying the government’s existing pipeline with private industry has become too slow and too expensive.
Hegseth’s stop at Quonset Point – where he toured facilities operated by General Dynamics, Anduril, and Bath Iron Works – was part of his ongoing “‘Arsenal of Freedom’ tour, a call to action to revitalize America’s manufacturing might and re-energize the nation’s workforce,” according to the Pentagon.
Speaking to employees at Anduril, an autonomous underwater vehicle manufacturer, Hegseth said the effort is focused on “opening up the aperture for new competitors.”
“I don’t actually care whose name is on the side of a submarine or a missile … Not my job,” Hegseth said in remarks streamed online by WPRI. “That’s your CEO’s job and the other company’s job to out compete.
“But it is my job to make sure that there’s an open aperture to actually compete,” he said.
Hegseth, who was scheduled to continue on to Bath, Maine, kicked off the tour in January, pledging to revitalize the nation’s industrial base while supporting military interests.
The launch of the tour came just before President Trump signed a Jan. 7 executive order taking aim at the nation’s defense contractors. The order, among other actions, blocks “underperforming” contractors from paying dividends or buying back stock until “they are able to produce a superior product, on time and on budget.”
In a statement on Monday, the Pentagon said Hegseth’s ongoing tour “will champion a new approach to defense acquisition, one that prioritizes and awards speed, innovation, and a ‘commercial-first’ mindset.”
“This includes cutting bureaucratic red tape, empowering program leaders, and providing the stable, long-term contracts necessary for industry to invest and expand,” the statement said. “The goal is to create a defense ecosystem that is more agile and accountable, capable of delivering the tools our warfighters need, when they need them.”
On Monday, Hegseth also administered the oath of enlistment to new recruits at the Seabees Museum in North Kingstown.
“You are the real secret weapon of the United States of America,” Hegseth told them. “No other country produces young men and women like these. So thank you for the perspective you have and your willingness to make this choice. Thank you to the families who are giving us the most special gift you could give. It’s our job to be responsible with that.”
Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.