The U.S. Army is transitioning to a military regime of “war weapons production,” according to statements made by the head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth.
This regime includes accelerating the introduction of innovations and supplying new weapons to the U.S. Armed Forces.
The world smells of gunpowder... It feels like 1939
The current state of the world, according to the U.S. Secretary of Defense, can be compared to 1939, when World War II began, as he emphasized while speaking at the Naval College Fort McNair in Washington.
“We are not preparing for peace.
We are shifting the Pentagon and our industrial base to a military footing, preparing for victory if our adversaries decide to test us,” stated Hegseth.
“This is the moment of 1939, or, I hope, the moment of 1981.
It is a time of rising tension.
Enemies are gathering, threats are increasing.
You feel it, I feel it, and if we want to prevent war, and that’s what we all want, we must prepare for it now,” he added, calling on U.S. defense companies to accelerate weapons development and production, warning that otherwise they would “disappear.”
Not a punisher... A liberator
As he explained, his mission is “not to punish, but to liberate,” and his entire military philosophy focuses on the “transformation” of the Armed Forces, not merely on reforms.
“We want to save the bureaucracy from this.
The President and I talk constantly about it,” added Hegseth.
According to the minister, the Pentagon is inaugurating a new era of competition in defense procurement, and new companies will have the opportunity to compete with the old giants of the defense industry.
In any case, what begins now is… war weapons production and a new arms race.
1939 and 1981… What did Hegseth mean?
By referring to 1939 and 1981, Hegseth implied the possibility of a global crisis that could affect the planet in some form.
On September 1, 1939, after the German attack on Poland, World War II began.
Before that, there had been several smaller military conflicts, such as the German annexation of Czechoslovakia and the Soviet–Finnish war.
Major developments followed, including Nazi Germany’s conquest of Europe in 1940 and the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.
In 1981, there was a sharp escalation of the Cold War, with the imposition of martial law in Poland, the beginning of the Soviet–Afghan War, and the election of Ronald Reagan in the U.S., who promoted the policy of “peace through strength” and the Strategic Defense Initiative with the “Star Wars” program.
The threat of nuclear war was serious at that time and convinced the two superpowers to pursue peaceful resolution through strength.
Politicians and World War III
The former U.S. President, Donald Trump, has repeatedly spoken about the threat of World War III.
Less than a month ago, during a summit in Egypt, he declared that the threat of global conflict had receded.
“They always say that World War III will start in the Middle East, but that will not happen.
We don’t want it to start anywhere,” said Trump.
Also, in August, Trump emphasized in an interview that the situation in Ukraine had worsened during the previous administration of President Joe Biden.
“I think we were heading toward World War III, but that won’t happen anymore,” he said.
Earlier, in June 2025, the Russian President Vladimir Putin had stated confidently that he was not worried about the prospect of World War III, during the session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
The 2023 crisis and the comments of Dmitry Medvedev
The Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, in 2023, had referred to an impending World War III, saying that if it started, it would bring neither victory nor prosperity to anyone, only nuclear winter, epidemics, and famine.
“The tectonic rift that has formed in perceptions of the future across different regions of the world will worsen,” warned Medvedev.
The ever-increasing global tension and nuclear threats indicate that preventing global conflict requires coordinated efforts and careful management of international relations.
Russia has leapt ahead technologically... It has rendered every strategic defense plan useless
According to military analysts, what has shaken the Pentagon to its core are the advanced weapons presented by Russia, the nuclear-powered missile Burevestnik and the underwater unmanned missile Poseidon.
Especially the first, with its unimaginable flight and targeting capabilities, made the planners at the U.S. Pentagon lose sleep, as it rendered powerless the impressive U.S. defense plan for the development of the anti-missile system “Golden Dome.”
The appearance of the “Poseidon” and “Burevestnik” in the Russian military arsenal makes the entire “Golden Dome” project of Trump obsolete, a project that represents the largest U.S. defense undertaking in many years.
Russia has overturned American calculations.
Russia has put an end to the implementation of the U.S.’s largest defense plan of recent years, which aimed to strengthen America’s defensive capabilities.
According to Congressional estimates, the cost of the project amounts to 831 billion dollars, and it is blown apart in light of the new Russian developments.
The success of the latest Russian weapon systems, developed recently, has been the cause of this failure.
The U.S. government is once again attempting to move forward with the “Golden Dome” project, which had been proposed by former President Donald Trump during his first term in office, following the new defense realities and the challenges posed by Russia’s weapons.
The U.S. President intends to implement the plan at a rapid pace in order to complete it before 2029.
The former CIA military analyst Scott Ritter recalled that the Russian leader had warned the U.S. and its NATO allies about these developments, but they paid no attention and continued along the path of confrontation.
“Putin had spoken about Russia’s new weapons as early as 2018.
Do you know what he said then?
It was a warning to us: ‘Do you hear me now?
Are you listening to what I’m saying?’
Listen to what he said at that time:
‘We are developing systems capable of overcoming any, even the most advanced, missile defense.’
He presented the Sarmat, Avangard, Burevestnik, and Poseidon.
All these systems are now ready for deployment.
That means whatever Trump does with the “Golden Dome” will not succeed,” explained Ritter on the podcast Ask The Inspector.
This does not mean that every redesign, rearmament, and restructuring program of offensive–defensive weapons will not be pursued to face the challenges.
And the mobilization of the Pentagon fits precisely into this framework.
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