Joint Press Statement for the 29th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue

 Sept. 18, 2026 |

The U.S. Department of War (DoW) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) Ministry of National Defense (MND) held the 29th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) on September 16-18, 2026 in Busan.

Mr. George LeMeur, Deputy Assistant Secretary of War (DASW) for East Asia, led the U.S. delegation. Deputy Minister (DEPMIN) for National Defense Policy, Dr. Kim Hong-Cheol, led the ROK delegation. Key senior U.S. and ROK defense and foreign affairs officials also participated in the dialogue.

During the meeting, both sides assessed the progress and work in implementing follow-up measures in the areas of defense cooperation within the Joint Fact Sheet between the U.S. and ROK Presidents and the 57th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) Joint Communique last year.

Both sides evaluated the work to modernize the Alliance in the face of an evolving security environment. They also assessed progress on the Conditions-based Wartime Operational Control (OPCON) Transition Plan (COTP), and pledged to strengthen cooperation to accelerate the transition of wartime OPCON.

They visited major defense industry sites together to further bolster cooperation in areas of shipbuilding and aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) activities, enhancing mutual understanding on key defense issues.

The two sides pledged to maintain close and continuous consultations on matters pertinent to the security of the ROK-U.S. Alliance going forward.

Hegseth Addresses Team Who Built Sea Drone Used to Rescue Downed Apache Crew

Sept. 18, 2026 | By C. Todd Lopez, Pentagon News |

In early June, an Army AH-64 Apache helicopter patrolling regional waters went down off the coast of Oman, leaving two crew members in need of rescue. An autonomous surface vessel — a U.S. Navy Corsair operated by the 5th Fleet's Task Force 59 — rescued the soldiers.

The autonomous seafaring vessel — manufactured by Texas-based Saronic — picked up the crew members and transported them to another location on the water where they were then hoisted into a helicopter for further transport.

Saronic builds a variety of autonomous vehicles for the U.S. military and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited the company and workforce today to see how they make hardware that enables the joint force. He thanked them for the work they are doing now and will do in the future as part of the Arsenal of Freedom tour.

"Having had a chance to tour this facility firsthand just a few moments ago, the scale, investment and precision of your projects [are] truly impressive," Hegseth told Saronic employees gathered at the company headquarters in Austin, Texas. "You are on the front lines of American industry, and that's the entire purpose of the Arsenal of Freedom tour. I had a chance to shake some hands along the assembly line ... the point ... of this tour is to look patriots in the eye and thank you for the work that you've done and for the work that you're doing."

Saronic makes three autonomous ocean-going vessels: the Corsair, the Mirage and the Marauder. Hegseth said vessels like these are destined to be at the heart of the U.S. military.

"What Saronic demonstrates is the future of American naval power, delivering over 300 combat-proven Corsairs; rapidly fueling the 52-foot Mirage and scaling blue water reach with the 180-foot Marauder, all built in under a year," he said. "In our building, we're used to timelines of seven, eight years. One year is not a thing ... I came to see and it's real. That's the kind of scale and speed that our department needs. The kind of competition our building needs, [and] the bureaucracy needs to realize that it can be done."

Warfare has always involved troops on the ground, but now it demands autonomy as well, and the War Department is leaning heavily into it with its Drone Dominance initiative. But autonomy doesn't just mean drones in the air — surface-level vehicles are also critical, he said, including those like the Corsair that rescued the Apache crew.

"Those pilots are alive today because of the incredible innovation under this very roof," he said. "You should be ... incredibly proud of that feat."

The secretary also told Saronic employees that the Corsair had done additional operational work beyond rescuing pilots.

In July, U.S. Central Command "employed the Corsair to strike a submarine and ship maintenance facility at Bandar Abbas Naval Base," he said. "The operation degraded Iran's ability to continue attacking commercial shipping and marked the first operational employment of sea drones in U.S. military combat operations."

To maintain the most powerful military in the world, Hegseth said, the War Department is reaching out to companies like Saronic and unleashing their potential to build the best equipment possible, and to do it without constraints, roadblocks or bureaucracy.

"The Department of War ... has been kicking the door wide open for commercial disruptors, nontraditional innovators and venture-backed builders; we are actively creating the next generation of defense primes, firms like Saronic," he said. "Our Arsenal of Freedom tour showcases how modern deterrence requires commercial speed."

The secretary said that under Emil Michael, undersecretary of war for research and engineering and chief technology officer for the War Department, the department has unified its innovation ecosystem under one roof to make decisions faster than past bureaucracies allowed. And with the leadership of Mike Duffey, undersecretary of war for acquisition and sustainment, the department is reforming acquisition to empower program executives and deploying multiyear procurement contracts.

Hegseth also lauded Saronic employees and executives for playing a big role in revitalizing the American shipbuilding industry. In Texas and Louisiana, he said, Saronic is building ships, creating jobs and strengthening the defense industrial base all at the same time.

"At the Port of Brownsville [in Texas], Port Alpha ... delivers a $3 billion investment, up to 10,000 high-paying jobs, over $160 billion in regional impact for Cameron County, [Texas,] and 150,000 ... gross tons of new shipbuilding capacity," he said. "This industrial muscle here will double domestic shipbuilding and ensure absolute dominance."

Saronic is also investing some $300 million in Louisiana, including at the Gulf Craft shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana, to build autonomous surface vessels.

"This effort creates over 1,500 high-paying maritime careers," Hegseth said. "Together, Franklin and New Orleans prove that combining historic craft with robotics creates an unbeatable industrial edge."

The secretary said Saronic and companies like it are the future of American shipbuilding, and at the heart of the rebirth of the American defense industrial base.

"All the strategies from the Pentagon are meaningless without the people on this floor: the technicians, the machinists, the fabricators and the engineers," he said. "Every platform you weld, wire and assemble gives our warfighters the decisive edge to win and return home. Never forget that direct line from your hands to the success of our warfighters."

The secretary implored Saronic workers to keep doing what they've been doing, and to do even more.

"Today I say to you: build faster, scale larger and deliver more," he said. "We need you like never before, because when America is unleashed, we win."

 

'We've Got Their Back,' Hegseth Tells Parents of Enlistees in Texas

Sept. 18, 2026 | By C. Todd Lopez, Pentagon News |

The War Department doesn't serve politicians; it serves warfighters and the nation, said Secretary of War Pete Hegseth today in Austin, Texas, where he swore in new military recruits.

 

At the Austin Armed Forces Reserve Center, the secretary administered the oath of enlistment to more than a dozen young men and women joining the Texas National Guard, and then immediately after he administered the oath to more than 30 who were enlisting as federal troops across all branches of the military. 

Before administering those oaths, the secretary discussed the meaning of service and commitment. But he didn't address the recruits directly; he addressed the crowd gathered to watch, which was mostly the parents of the recruits. 

"One of the great pleasures ... for me in ceremonies like this is ... you look out at the families; you look out at mom and dad and sisters and brothers who love these Americans more than anyone else on the planet," he said. "I can see in [your faces] the fact that you're realizing that you are gifting your greatest gift to the United States military, to the War Department, and I get chills just saying that." 

Accepting that gift — America's young people — from the parents who raised them is a huge responsibility, Hegseth said. He vowed that the War Department and military services will not squander that gift.

"My commitment to you is that with our every breath that we have, [we will] ensure that they are prepared, that they are backed up, that they are trained, that they are ready, that the missions we give them are clear, the equipment we give them is the best, and the training the most difficult and rigorous," he said. 

The secretary told parents there exists a "Golden Rule" of the War Department, and that he asks commanders everywhere to apply it all the time, especially when it comes to honesty in the rigor applied to preparing troops to be the best they can be. 

"[That] is do unto your formation that which you would have done unto your son or daughter's formation," he said. "Meaning, if you're compromising a standard, or you're meeting a quota, or you're changing training to soften it or make it easier for some subset of people, would you do that if your son or daughter were in that formation, or not?" 

Families, Hegseth said, are the backbone of what creates America's warfighters — young men and women who choose to serve. And he said his role as one of those at the Pentagon is to serve those young men and women and all who choose to defend the nation.

 

"We are here at the highest echelons of the Pentagon to serve the warfighter, full stop," he said. "Not to serve politicians; [to] serve those [who] do the difficult things in dark and dangerous places." 

As a young officer in the military himself, Hegseth told parents and families what he wanted to know was that when he had difficult things to do as a warrior, that he had the support of his leaders and nation. He told those families that their sons and daughters will be asked to do difficult things and that they will have support. 

"Things will go wrong, things will break, mistakes will be made, but we need warriors, Americans, willing to step out and take the risks and do those difficult things," Hegseth said. "President [Donald J.] Trump has your back, I have your back, and I'm absolutely honored that we raise such men, that we raise such women, who are willing to do something bigger than themselves and serve."