Department of War – for the ‘Arsenal of Freedom’: Pete Hegseth's new strategic doctrine
In his speech at the Reagan National Defence Forum, US Secretary of War Hegseth presented an ambitious programme called ‘Arsenal of Freedom’ — a concept for modernising US military capabilities, an open, technological and flexible military-industrial model that will replace old, closed weapons architectures. This was reported by The Public , citing the US Department of War press service and a number of American media outlets.
According to him, the priorities of the new course are: protecting the borders and sovereignty of the US and Western Hemisphere countries, building defence capabilities, increasing arms production, and reorienting from large-scale global operations to regional tasks.
He also called on army personnel and veterans to see themselves as part of a wider community responsible for the country's security: ‘We are the Department of Force. We will be ready for war, but we seek peace.’
Hegseth separately emphasised that the US will continue to actively combat drug cartels in the Caribbean and Latin America, which, according to him, pose a threat to US security.
According to Pete Hagsett, the US armed forces are analysing the lessons learned from the war in Ukraine. The US Armed Forces are currently studying the use of autonomous systems and artificial intelligence, which have already proven their effectiveness during combat operations in Ukraine.
At the same time, Hagsett stressed that the new strategy is not aimed at military confrontation with China. The US seeks deterrence, not direct confrontation, and calls on its allies to take on a greater share of the burden for their own security. According to Hegseth, the US does not intend to change the status quo regarding Taiwan — it will defend its interests in the Asia-Pacific region while remaining open to dialogue with Beijing.
Overall, the strategy reflects a noticeable shift: from being a player in a global project to an increased focus on protecting its own region, with technological and rapid military forces capable of responding to both traditional and asymmetric threats.
