Secretary of Defense Hegseth Tours General Atomics Manufacturing Facility at the Invitation of Chairman Wicker

Visit Emphasizes Directive to Expand Domestic Defense Industrial Base

SAN DIEGO, March 24, 2025 (Newswire.com)
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General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) hosted U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on March 20, at its Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Tupelo, MS at the invitation of U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss), the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The visit punctuates Secretary Hegseth’s commitment to re-invigorate and expand the nation’s defense industrial base to rapidly deploy weapons technologies to support an expanding range of national security initiatives.

During his visit, Secretary Hegseth was briefed on GA-EMS’ manufacturing capabilities and expansive portfolio, with a focus on the company’s weapons systems including hypersonics, missiles and space-based tracking payloads; all of which facilitate a comprehensive, layered defense shield for early detection and rapid response in support of Golden Dome for America.

“It was great to host Secretary Hegseth in Mississippi as we engaged with some of our state’s best-in-class defense capabilities, including at General Atomics,” Chairman Wicker said. “The General Atomics facility in Tupelo has a nationally competitive workforce that conducts cutting-edge work in advanced military technologies. As Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I will always showcase Mississippi’s leading contributions for the warfighter and work to expand our state’s growing role in the defense industrial base.”

With over 750,000 square feet of manufacturing facilities located in Tupelo, Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS noted during the tour that the company’s commitment to and investment in research and development, its highly trained workforce, and its production capacity directly aligns with the Secretary of Defense’s stated goal of advancing “made in the U.S.” manufacturing capability to ensure the delivery of highly-capable, cost-effective weapons, specifically missile defense and hypersonics, to support the warfighter and advance America’s national interests. GA-EMS also has manufacturing facilities in Iuka, MS with strategic access to the Tennessee – Tombigbee Waterway and Gulf of America to facilitate the expansion of shipyard capacity to meet shipbuilding demand.

General Atomics was honored to host the Secretary of Defense and remains a committed partner to helping the Department of Defense deliver the most transformational and effective weapons to the warfighter at scale to support U.S. military operations.

Source: General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems