The “Arsenal of Freedom” is Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s nationwide industry tour to promote and rebuild the U.S. defense industrial base. Stated goals include revitalizing American manufacturing for national security, speeding up weapons acquisition (a “wartime” or rapid-acquisition mindset), partnering with commercial tech and space firms, and rallying workers and contractors to expand production and innovation for military needs.
As presented in news coverage of Hegseth’s tenure, the Secretary of War is the cabinet-level head of the Department of War (the Pentagon equivalent); responsibilities mirror those of a defense secretary: overall civilian leadership of the military department, setting policy priorities (strategy, readiness, force modernization), overseeing acquisition and the defense industrial base, and coordinating with the President, Congress, service secretaries, combatant commanders and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Operational command of forces still runs from the President to combatant commanders; service chiefs and service secretaries run their services’ administration and acquisition under the Secretary’s policy direction.
General Dynamics: large aerospace and defense contractor (ships, combat vehicles, munitions, mission systems) — e.g., combat vehicles and shipbuilding units. Anduril: defense technology company focused on AI-enabled sensors, autonomous systems, and defense software (sensors, counter‑UAS, autonomy). Bath Iron Works (HII): major U.S. naval shipbuilder that constructs destroyers, frigates and other surface combatants for the U.S. Navy.
The Department of War advisory and contemporaneous press reporting frame the visits as part of outreach to industry to highlight the tour’s agenda (industrial base revival, faster acquisitions and partnerships with commercial tech). The advisory does not announce specific contracts; reporting shows the stops mix public relations, political messaging and policy advocacy (and may include acquisition-level discussions behind closed doors), not formal contract awards in the advisory itself.
The Department of War advisory does not list open press events. News coverage shows Hegseth often gives public remarks at tour stops, but whether any specific Quonset Point or Bath events were open to press or scheduled briefings is not stated in the advisory; public access/briefing details were not published there.
No specific policy or procurement decisions tied to this Rhode Island/Maine tour stop were announced in the Department of War advisory; the tour is presented as a broader initiative to push acquisition and industrial‑base priorities, not to declare new contracts at that advisory’s publication.