Defense Secretary Hegseth and SBA Chief Loeffler Launch Smaller War Plants Commission

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler unveiled a “Smaller War Plants Commission” in a brief video posted to X. The commission is intended to channel expertise and funding to smaller defense firms, echoing the World-War-II-era Smaller War Plants Corporation that provided loans, contracts, and technical assistance to modest manufacturers.

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The original 1942 corporation was created by Congress to bolster small businesses supplying war material. The initiative aligns with the administration’s stated goal of ending reliance on foreign supply chains and strengthening the industrial depth behind the U.S. military.

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• Pete Hegseth, Defense Secretary – emphasized that the commission will give the United States “generational battlefield advantage” and deter conflict.

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• Kelly Loeffler, SBA Administrator – highlighted that small manufacturers constitute roughly 70 % of the U.S. defense industrial base and that the SBA oversees a portfolio of nearly $500 billion in small-business assets.

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Loeffler’s figures suggest the commission will tap the SBA’s extensive small-business portfolio to provide loans and contracts to defense firms that currently make up the majority of the industrial base. By concentrating resources on these smaller entities, the administration aims to accelerate innovation, expand production capacity, and reduce dependence on overseas suppliers.

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• “Our message is clear: President Trump is ending the era of dependence on foreign supply chains and our adversaries. This historic long-term commitmentwill reinforce the industrial depththat stands proudly behind the strongest military on earth. When we back the businesses who supply our forces, we outbuild, out innovate and overwhelm any adversary,” — Pete Hegseth, story defense secretary

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• “We are transforming industrial capability into generational battlefield advantage, and in doing so,we will deter conflict, preserve peace and ensure that no adversary tests American strength,” — Pete Hegseth, story defense secretary

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• “Our joint mission will supercharge funding to those building our supply chain, tooling up, expanding, innovating and hiring to deliver capability to the warfighter,” — Kelly Loeffler, administrator

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• “If we need to use kinetic strikes, we’ll use them. If Iran is foolish enough to overplay their hand or mess with the American military, we’ll do what we need to do,” — Pete Hegseth, story defense secretary

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