[JustTheNews] Hegseth made a trip down to "Rocket City" on Friday. While the publicized part of the visit focused on the new headquarters for U.S. Space Command, the War Secretary's tour also shone a spotlight on U.S. efforts to boost missile defense and weapons capabilities.
Secretary of the Department of War Pete Hegseth carried out part of his “Arsenal of Freedom Tour” in the “Rocket City” of Huntsville in northern Alabama on Friday, meeting with leaders in rocket design and missile defense ahead of a visit to the future location of U.S. Space Command.
Hegseth’s trip to the “Rocket City” came amidst a push by the Pentagon to revitalize the sclerotic U.S. industrial base, with the war secretary taking the chance to visit Boeing, the Missile Defense Agency, and other locations before giving a speech at an event marking the unveiling of a sign at the new Spacecom location. The war secretary said it was part of his "Building the Arsenal of Freedom Tour."
Huntsville already features a large presence by defense companies such as Boeing as well as a host of key U.S. federal agencies at Redstone Arsenal, including NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the U.S. Army Materiel Command, the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Missile and Space Intelligence Center, and the FBI’s Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center and the bureau’s Hazardous Devices School.
Hegseth was greeted on the Huntsville airport tarmac by a number of U.S. military leaders, including Lt. Gen. Francisco Lozano, the Director of Hypersonic, Directed Energy, Space, and Rapid Acquisition at Redstone Arsenal. The general told Hegseth that “we’ve got lots of interesting things to show you” during the visit.
ADDRESSING DIMINISHED WEAPON SUPPLY
The U.S. military’s air campaign against Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen, the U.S.’s years-long effort to supply a massive number of armaments to Ukraine in its fight against Russian invaders, and U.S. assistance in the defense of Israel against Iranian missile barrages have all eaten into the U.S. weapon supply. In addition, Taiwan is facing a possible invasion by the Chinese, with the potential the U.S. would get involved in defending the island nation against a near-peer and nuclear-armed adversary.
It remains unclear whether the defense industrial base would be able to manufacture the number of weapons and ships needed to sustain a long-term engagement against the People’s Liberation Army and the Chinese navy, but Hegseth has been hard at work encouraging defense company leaders to ramp up production and ordering military leaders to innovate.
Hegseth’s first stop on Friday was to the Boeing Jetplex in Huntsville, where he was given a tour of the production facility for the seeker component of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile, an advanced U.S. air and missile defense system. The company recently finished a big expansion of its Seeker production facility in order to handle increased demand from the War Department.
LATEST TECH: THE PATRIOT SEEKER
A Boeing worker in a blue Boeing-branded apron and gloves wearing Santa-themed bunny ears greeted Hegseth’s delegation as they headed to the classified factory floor to see how the Patriot seeker is made.
Jim Leary, who runs business development for weapons systems at Boeing, told Just the News that “we’re showing him a Patriot Seeker — it’s the most advanced hit-to-kill seeker that is used by the military.”
Boeing’s website touts that the PAC-3 Seeker won the 2025 title of the "Coolest Thing Made in Alabama" in the statewide Manufacturing Madness competition this year.
Leary said the company just finished expansion of its PAC-3 seeker facility, saying it is going from 60,000 square feet to 90,000 square feet and will be operational in January.
“We’re going to talk to the secretary today about this expansion and how we are self-investing to lean in,” Leary said, adding that Boeing’s leaders were also telling Hegseth about “the things we want to try to get in front of the demand signal — we want to equip the warfighters as quickly as possible with this incredible Patriot weapon system.”
Lockheed Martin says that the PAC-3 family of missiles “defend against incoming threats using direct body-to-body contact that delivers exponentially more kinetic energy on the target than can be achieved with blast-fragmentation mechanisms.”
Boeing announced in October that, after being awarded $2.7 billion to produce more PAC-3 seekers, the company “will deliver more than 3,000 seekers at rates of up to 750 units per year through 2030.” The company said it was working closely with Lockheed and the Army and argued that “scaling seeker output is critical to ensuring the Patriot system can continue to defend service members, civilians and critical infrastructure worldwide as threats proliferate.”
“Last year was a banner year — we produced around 500 seekers that year. We are already at around 650 this year,” Leary said on Friday. “So month over month for the last rolling twelve months we have beaten production records.”
Leary added: “We have been working very closely with the Department of War on potential ramp capacity questions that they’ve asked us. So we think that with what we’ve done with this expansion we’ll be able to get up into the couple thousand Seekers over the next few years. So we aren’t stopping at 650 this year — we see continued ramp up to maybe a thousand a year.”
HEGSETH: "OUR WARFIGHTERS DESERVE THE BEST"
“If our warfighters don’t have it, then we can’t execute. And if our enemies don’t think we have the capability, then we can’t deter,” Hegseth said as he emphasized the importance of the work Boeing was doing.
“What we’ve seen today is the best. And our warfighters deserve the best, need the best, demand the best,” Hegseth told the Boeing workers, adding, “Go faster. … Urgency is our buzzword. We don’t have time to wait.”
Just the News previously reported about a late June closed-door meeting that Hegseth held with some of the leaders of America’s largest military contractors, urging them to ramp up the production of critically needed munitions amidst depleted weapons stocks and a growing threat from China.
Just the News also reported last week about the Secretary of the Navy’s inauguration of a new naval office aimed at expediting the development and deployment of new weapons systems and ships, declaring that “we need speed” and calling for a “wartime footing” as the challenges posed by China loom in the Pacific.
“PAE FIRES” — THE PENTAGON’S EFFORT TO RAMP UP MISSILE PRODUCTION
Hegseth recently announced the creation of Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAEs) to speed up the acquiring of weaponry and to consolidate a dozen offices into a half-dozen ones — and PAE Fires, located in Huntsville, is one of the newly-reorganized acquisition efforts. The Alabama location was the next stop on Hegseth’s Huntsville visit on Friday.
While Hegseth was inside the PAE Fires building receiving a classified briefing, U.S. military officers were standing outside in front of inert versions of massive and advanced weapons systems, which Hegseth would soon receive walk-through briefings on.
Lieutenant Colonel Steven Moebes, an Army project manager for the Patriot missile system told Just the News that “The missiles are built by Lockheed, but Boeing makes the seeker that goes in the front, and that is the secret sauce that makes the hit-to-kill possible. It is literally the eye of the missile that when it gets close to the target the seeker takes over and it tells the missile exactly where to go.”
The lieutenant colonel said he was confident that weapons production of the Patriot system would continue to ramp up in the near future.
“A lot in the news about munitions acceleration popping up. We have set records for Patriot missiles production year after year over the last three years while I’ve been the manager. We’re looking at quadrupling it over the rest of the decade,” Moebes said. The lieutenant colonel said 600 of the weapons were produced this year, but that they would be “almost quadrupling it” soon.
“It’ll be 2,000 for new production, and then there is another 400 for repairs… and then there is another program for the next generation of missile that we are starting next year as well,” Moebes also said. “So a lot of excitement.”
Just the News asked if the U.S. burns through these weapons quickly, and Moebes said that “it comes in waves” and “it comes in spurts.” He noted that these missiles weren’t used much during the twenty-year Global War on Terrorism, but were used in the defense of Israel against Iranian missiles this year.
The lieutenant general said that “the system operates as designed” and that “I’m proud of the system, and I appreciate the opportunity to talk about it.”
Hegseth soon exited the PAE Fires building to receive a mini-tour and mini-briefings on the weapons systems on display outside the building.
Lt. Gen. Lozano told Hegseth that “we’ve collapsed a number of organizations into PAE Fires” and said this gave him “unity of command” which would give him the ability to push to “shave years off of acquisitions.”
Years is good, given the competition. Secretary Hegseth got dog-and-pony shows at several other sites about a bunch of other systems, all reported at the link. But the message is that DOD suppliers are becoming lean, mean production machines, to match streamlining on the department’s purchasing side. I read the other day that something like 75% of staff has walked away from the Justice Department since President Trump was sworn in last January. Does anyone know what the numbers are for the War Department?
#2
Why in the fuck would anyone ally with muslims? I believe they have proven to be POS.
Posted by: chris ||
12/15/2025 17:21 Comments ||
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#3
Defense cooperation agreement? Defense against whom?
Skimming, we see Poland was the first NATO country to sign an agreement to purchase Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles from Türkiyeieio
Never mind! Just a business agreement to get Poland caught up on the latest warfighting technology.
Poland, representing the EU, offers a defense against Russian incursion through Turkey.
Borders to the north is the Ukraine, and Belarus, the only exposed front.
[IsraelTimes] In speech, top official Khalil al-Hayya also says international force shouldn’t take over Gaza; Hamas accuses ‘agents of the occupation’ of assassinating internal security officer
Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... leader Khalil al-Hayya said on Sunday that the terror group’s arms are "a right guaranteed by international law," and rejected the International Stabilization Force (ISF) envisioned by US President Donald Trump ...They hit him with slander, they impeached him twice. Nancy Pelosi tore up his State of the Union address on national TV. They stole an election and put his adherents in jail. They vilified him. They couldn't crucify him, so they shot him. Still, they can't keep him down... ’s Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... peace plan, which was enshrined in a UN Security Council resolution last month.
In a speech marking the 38th anniversary of Hamas’s establishment, Hayya also confirmed that the Israel Defense Forces killed Raad Saad, a top Hamas commander, on Saturday. Separately, the Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza accused Israel of orchestrating the killing of an internal security officer in the terror group on Sunday morning.
According to written comments published by Hamas, Hayya called in the speech for the ceasefire plan to proceed, "and especially complete the first phase that includes the entry of aid" into Gaza.
The first phase, which formed the basis of the current Gaza truce and hostage-release deal, is meant to end when Hamas returns all 48 living and dead hostages who were still in Gaza when the deal was signed on October 9. The remains of one hostage, Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, are still in Gaza.
The second phase of Trump’s plan would see Hamas lay down its arms as the ISF takes responsibility for Gaza’s security, while Israel stages a further withdrawal in the Strip.
But in his speech, Hayya said the ISF should be limited to "maintaining the ceasefire and separating the parties along the Gaza Strip’s border."
On the other hand, he said Hamas — which Trump’s plan forbids from playing any role in Gaza’s governance — is prepared to hand over its authorities and "facilitate the work" of the apolitical technocratic Paleostinian commission that would administer the Strip on a civilian level under the plan.
Hamas stands firm in "rejecting all forms of custody" over the Paleostinian people, and will not give up its arms absent a Paleostinian state, said Hayya.
"We affirm that the resistance and its weapons are a legitimate right guaranteed under international law to all nations under occupation," he said. "We are open to studying any proposals to preserve this right while guaranteeing the establishment of an independent Paleostinian state, and self-determination for our Paleostinian nation."
Trump’s plan suggests a "credible pathway to Paleostinian self-determination and statehood" could be possible as a demilitarized Gaza is rebuilt and the West Bank-based Paleostinian Authority "faithfully" reforms itself so that it is deemed competent to take over the Strip from international forces. Since the plan was presented in September, the PA has committed to holding elections and drafting a provisional constitution, among other reforms.
Hayya, in his speech, called on Hamas’s secularist rival Fatah, which dominates the PA, to "reach common ground and agree on a joint national program," including "reviving Paleostinian political life via the ballot box."
Hayya also hailed the Hamas-led terror onslaught of October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 251, and thanked Arab and Moslem countries that have contributed humanitarian aid to Gaza in the ensuing war.
He singled out Russia and China, praising them for their pro-Paleostinian stance at the UN Security Council; ceasefire mediators The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... member, but not the most reliable... , Egypt and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... ; and South Africa, which launched proceedings at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.
In addition, Hayya saluted "those who supported our people in the city squares, streets and universities" as well as the Freedom and Sumud activist flotillas that Israel detained en route to Gaza this year.
He also paid tribute to the "deaders" killed by Israel during and since the October 7 attack, including Hezbollah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...> , who was killed last year, Iranian Quds Force commander Saeed Izadi, who was killed during the 12-day Israel-Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... war in June, and Saad, the Hamas military commander who was killed in an Israeli Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... on Gaza City on Saturday.
Israel confirmed Saad’s death on Saturday, with Paleostinian media reporting a total of five people killed in a strike that targeted a car traveling along the coastal Rashid Road.
Hayya said Saad "was martyred alongside his brothers who were with him," without elaborating.
Separately, Hamas’s interior ministry said Sunday that one of its officers, Lt. Col. Ahmed Zamzam, was rubbed out by unspecified armed people in the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, and that one suspect had been apprehended.
Later, citing an initial investigation, the Hamas ministry said Zamzam was killed by an Israeli-backed group under Israel’s orders.
"The liquidation was carried out by agents of the occupation under direct orders of the Israeli intelligence apparatus," the Hamas interior ministry said, adding that investigations were ongoing and that "the remaining perpetrators" are under pursuit.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/15/2025 12:42 Comments ||
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#5
^ Do you want lat-long or grid coordinates?
Last I looked, all of the living hostages and all but one of the murdered hostages have been returned. We should recognize that for the accomplishment that it is.
Is there anyone who did not expect Hamas to welsh on the deal at some point? But hey, every batter has some lumps. You just gotta beat them out.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
