Demand for munitions is booming. After a record number of munitions expenditures last year in defense of Israel, the counter Houthi campaign in the Red Sea, and support to Ukraine, the Department of War announced an agreement to triple production of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) from around 600 to 2,000 annually, with more production deals expected. This announcement coincides with President Trump's proposal to raise the defense budget to $1.5 trillion as well as the Secretary of War’s Arsenal of Freedom tour, intended to bolster the defense industrial base and accelerate defense-related production. On January 5, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth kicked off the tour with visits to Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, subsequent stops at Rocket Lab in California, Lockheed Martin's F-35 plant and SpaceX in Texas, and others to come.
What does the Arsenal of Freedom tour and this new paradigm mean for the U.S. defense industry, U.S. technology innovation, the reinvigorated "warfighting acquisition system," and deterrence and warfighting capabilities? What does it signal for the development of new space systems, missiles, munitions, and nuclear capabilities? To discuss these questions and more, please join the CSIS Defense and Security Department’s HTK Series for a conversation featuring Heather Williams, director of the CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues, Tom Karako, director of the CSIS Missile Defense Project, and Kari Bingen, director of the CSIS Aerospace Security Project.
This event is made possible by general support to CSIS.
