U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during an event at Saronic Technologies in Austin on Friday. Hegseth visited the Austin defense technology company as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, which the Defense Department said is focused on strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base and domestic manufacturing.
Jay Janner / Austin American-Statesman
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called Austin defense startup Saronic Technologies “the gold standard” of American military manufacturing during a visit to the company’s headquarters Friday.
Hegseth addressed employees and executives at Austin-based defense startup Saronic Technologies Inc. as part of his Arsenal of Freedom Tour.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during an event at Saronic Technologies in Austin on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. Hegseth visited the Austin defense technology company as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, which the Defense Department says is focused on strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base and domestic manufacturing.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during an event at Saronic Technologies in Austin on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. Hegseth visited the Austin defense technology company as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, which the Defense Department says is focused on strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base and domestic manufacturing.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Saronic Technologies employees listen to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speak at an event at Saronic Technologies in Austin on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. Hegseth visited the Austin defense technology company as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, which the Defense Department says is focused on strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base and domestic manufacturing.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during an event at Saronic Technologies in Austin on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. Hegseth visited the Austin defense technology company as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, which the Defense Department says is focused on strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base and domestic manufacturing.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
A Saronic Technologies employee waits for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to speak at an event at Saronic Technologies in Austin on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. Hegseth visited the Austin defense technology company as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, which the Defense Department says is focused on strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base and domestic manufacturing.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Saronic Technologies employees wait for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to speak at an event at Saronic Technologies in Austin on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. Hegseth visited the Austin defense technology company as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, which the Defense Department says is focused on strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base and domestic manufacturing.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
A police officer guards the room as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at an event at Saronic Technologies in Austin on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. Hegseth visited the Austin defense technology company as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, which the Defense Department says is focused on strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base and domestic manufacturing.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Taking the stage, Hegseth described Saronic as a “Field of Dreams company,” saying that the company built its autonomous ships before “the U.S. came running.”
“You are the innovators, the builders of the arsenal of freedom,” he said in his speech. “It is precisely the strength of our domestic manufacturing arsenal that keeps us free. America manufacturing, American made, American jobs. … Nobody does it bigger than Texas.”
One of Austin’s most valuable startups, Saronic made headlines this summer when one of its autonomous vessels rescued the pilots of a U.S. Apache helicopter that had been downed near the Strait of Hormuz. Weeks later, the same vessels were used to attack an Iranian naval base in the strait.
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Hegseth praised the Saronic employees in the Southeast Austin building Friday for the rescue mission.
“You did that. Those pilots are alive today because of the incredible innovation under this very roof,” he said.
The manufacturer of autonomous ships and drones recently announced it will build a $3.2 billion shipyard at the Port of Brownsville in South Texas. The project, which was announced during a similar event with Gov. Greg Abbott in July, is expected to create more than 10,000 jobs and is projected to generate more than $160 billion in economic impact for Cameron County.
Saronic Technologies CEO Dino Mavrookas, left, introduces U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at an event at Saronic Technologies in Austin on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. Hegseth visited the Austin defense technology company as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, which the Defense Department says is focused on strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base and domestic manufacturing.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
The defense secretary praised Saronic and its leadership under CEO Dino Mavrookas for the Port Alpha shipyard manufacturing expansion. The shipyard is expected to deliver 150,000 gross tons of new shipbuilding capacity, doubling American shipbuilding.
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Saronic’s contract with the Defense Department is projected to generate more than $260 billion in economic impact for Texas, Hegseth said Friday.
“We need you like never before,” Hegseth said. “Because when America is unleashed, we win. But I hear that when Texas is unleashed, we dominate.”
Hegseth spent the majority of the nearly 30-minute speech focusing on his previous promises to “rebuild the military” and “peace through strength.”
The defense secretary’s visit to Austin came just days after he narrowly avoided an impeachment vote in the U.S. House over his handling of the U.S. war with Iran.
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The vote was brought forward by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, and would have required GOP leaders to put the resolution on the floor this week. But now it will be postponed until November after Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed House members early for their recess ahead of the midterm elections.
Hegseth did not address the impeachment vote in his remarks Friday.
But he reinforced the “vital” work the military was doing in the Middle East and boasted about the record-breaking $1.5 trillion budget for the defense department, which has still yet to be fully approved by Congress.
Along with coinciding with his near-miss impeachment, Hegseth’s Central Texas visit comes at a pivotal time ahead of the midterm elections.
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Recent polls have shown growing concern over the war with Iran, specifically concerns over economic impacts such as rising gas prices and lack of value. A poll by the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Politics Project found that the majority of Texas voters disapprove of the war.
As the GOP heads into the midterm elections, Hegseth said Friday that U.S. military power has never been as powerful and praised President Donald Trump for his handling of the war.
“I’m here on behalf of a president who demands the urgency, innovation and combat power that this place (Saronic) delivers every single day,” Hegseth said. “A president who has, from his very first day in office, operated on the core principles of pure and unadulterated common sense. We put America, American citizens and America first. The only real path to American security and strength is peace through strength.”
Hegseth’s Texas visit
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth greets employees after speaking at an event at Saronic Technologies in Austin on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. Hegseth visited the Austin defense technology company as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, which the Defense Department says is focused on strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base and domestic manufacturing.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Hegseth also visited Capital Factory on Friday. The Austin venture firm and startup incubator was an early investor in Saronic and other local companies including humanoid robot maker Apptronik and Cedar Park-based Firefly Aerospace.
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He also administered the oath of enlistment to new recruits at the Austin Armed Forces Reserve Center.
On Saturday, the defense secretary is expected to visit College Station, where he will tour the Veterans Resource Center and deliver remarks to the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University. He also plans to attend Texas A&M’s game against Kentucky on Saturday afternoon.
His stops in Texas are part of what he is calling his Arsenal of Freedom Tour, which is taking Hegseth across the country to “rebuild the U.S. defense industrial base and boost domestic manufacturing.” The tour brought him to Fort Worth earlier this year where he visited Lockheed Martin’s production facility.
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“My promise, and my challenge to every industry leader in this country, the days of rewarding the comfortable old guard for stagnation and failure are over,” Hegseth about his tour. “We are a different department than we were two years ago, night and day. I don’t care what name is on the side of a vessel, or a missile, or a ship. I just want the best.”