Pentagon’s “Arsenal of Freedom” tour borrows name from Star Trek episode—about killer AI

This week, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth touted their desire to “make Star Trek real”—while unconsciously reminding us of what the utopian science fiction franchise is fundamentally about.

Their Tuesday event was the latest in Hegseth’s ongoing “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, which was held at SpaceX headquarters in Starbase, Texas. (Itself a newly created town that takes its name from a term popularized by Star Trek.)

Neither Musk nor Hegseth seemed to recall that the “Arsenal of Freedom” phrase—at least in the context of Star Trek—is also the title of a 1988 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. That episode depicts an AI-powered weapons system, and its automated salesman, which destroys an entire civilization and eventually threatens the crew of the USS Enterprise. (Some Trekkies made the connection, however.)

In his opening remarks this week, Musk touted his grandiose vision for SpaceX, saying that he wanted to “make Starfleet Academy real.” (Starfleet Academy is the fictional educational institution at the center of an upcoming new Star Trek TV series that debuts on January 15.)

When Musk introduced Hegseth, the two men shook hands. Then Hegseth flashed the Vulcan salute to the crowd and echoed Musk by saying, “Star Trek real!”

Hegseth honed in on the importance of innovation and artificial intelligence to the US military.

“Very soon, we will have the world’s leading AI models on every unclassified and classified network throughout our department. Long overdue,” Hegseth said.

“To further that, today at my direction, we’re executing an AI acceleration strategy that will extend our lead in military AI established during President Trump’s first term. This strategy will unleash experimentation, eliminate bureaucratic barriers, focus on investments and demonstrate the execution approach needed to ensure we lead in military AI and that it grows more dominant into the future.”