"US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth met with Elon Musk at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Brownsville, Texas, on Monday as part of his nationwide 'Arsenal of Freedom' tour. Footage shared on social media shows Musk welcoming Hegseth before giving him a personal tour of the facility, a hub for SpaceX's rocket development and testing operations. SpaceX already holds 739 million USD (633.8 million EUR) in Pentagon contracts to launch missile-warning satellites beginning in late 2026, positioning Musk's company as a key defence contractor in the National Security Space Launch programme. Hegseth is on a month-long nationwide 'Arsenal of Freedom' tour, an initiative aimed at revitalising the US defence industrial base while accelerating military manufacturing to strengthen national security. It follows President Trump's 500 billion USD (428.7 billion EUR) spending push, warning companies that they may face cuts if they fail to accelerate production, while demanding executive pay caps and a halt to dividends and buybacks."