Pete Hegseth, Trump’s new defense secretary, issues message vowing to ‘rapidly’ field emerging tech

Newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a message to the military on Saturday that expressed his intent to quickly field emerging capabilities to deter China and others.

Hegseth narrowly won confirmation Friday night and was officially sworn in Saturday morning.

“It is the privilege of a lifetime to lead the warriors of the Department of Defense, under the leadership of our Commander in Chief Donald J. Trump. We will put America First, and we will never back down,” the SecDef said in his first “Message to the Force.”

“The President gave us a clear mission: achieve Peace through Strength. We will do this in three ways — by restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military, and reestablishing deterrence,” he added. “We will rebuild our military by matching threats to capabilities. This means reviving our defense industrial base, reforming our acquisition process, passing a financial audit, and rapidly fielding emerging technologies. We will remain the strongest and most lethal force in the world.”

During his confirmation process, Hegseth pledged that as leader of the Pentagon he would prioritize investments in AI, drones and counter-drone systems, among other technologies that he considers key to military modernization.

In his message to troops on Saturday, he highlighted defending the homeland “on the ground and in the sky” and working with allies and partners to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific, as key goals.

The Pentagon under the Biden administration was also heavily focused on countering China and introduced initiatives, such as Replicator, with the goal of fielding more forces in the Pacific.

However, President Joe Biden received criticism for allowing what U.S. officials believed to be a Chinese spy balloon to fly across much of the country before shooting it down off the coast of South Carolina. Drone incursions over U.S. military bases and other facilities were also a major concern. Hegseth didn’t specifically mention those issues when announcing his intention to defend the homeland “in the sky.”

Trump earlier this week ordered the deployment of American troops to the border with Mexico to beef up security and try to thwart illegal immigration. Hegseth didn’t explicitly mention border protection in his message to the force when he noted plans to “reestablish deterrence” and defend the homeland “on the ground.”

The new SecDef also stated that the military’s focus should be on “lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards, and readiness.”