But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared in a November speech that the military was permanently positioning its acquisition system to be on a wartime footing. Defense firms’ footprints grow with their orders, and companies that start small will quickly expand if the demand is there, Staubitz said. Munitions suppliers like L3Harris, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace and others have secured similar deals to boost the U.S. defense manufacturing base. A growing number of defense firms around the nation’s capital are searching for all-in-one space solutions that include offices and, more importantly, some type of showroom to show off their tech, said Lincoln Property Co. That has made the strip of offices between Capitol Hill and the White House especially prime real estate for defense firms that are trying to get their products in front of lawmakers.