U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Friday that the U.S. military will remain the world's strongest despite budgetary constraints, in order to confront threats that the U.S. faces as a world leader.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta [File photo]

Speaking to a crowd of service members, civilians and local leaders at a town hall meeting held at the Naval air base in Patuxent River, Maryland, Panetta praised the U.S. military for achieving significant successes in fighting the al-Qaida terror organization, rendering it being unable to make the kinds of plans for the terror attacks in Sept. 11, 2001.

With the withdrawal from Iraq at the end of last year, the U.S. military has also made steady progress in transitioning to Afghan control and security in Afghanistan, he added.

But Panetta warned against complacency, citing that the U.S. is still facing threats from many sides. "We're still fighting a war in Afghanistan. We're facing threats from North Korea. We're facing threats from Iran. We continue to face threats from the proliferation of nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction," he said.

The defense chief also noted threats from "rising powers" in Asia, continuing turmoil in the Middle East, and in the cyber world where "the battlefields of the future could very well be in cyber."

"So at a time when we're at that turning point, at a time when we're facing the budget challenges that we're facing, we still have to be strong to confront the threats that we face in the world," he said.

After U.S. Congress mandated a reduction of 487 billion U.S. dollars in the defense budget over the next decade, Panetta said he saw it as an "opportunity to shape the defense system we need for the future."

"Number one, we are and have to remain, the strongest military in the world," he said. "We are not going to back off from our position of being the strongest military. If we're going to confront those threats, if we're going to be a world leader, we have got to maintain our military power."

Panetta was adamant about not hollowing out the force, which he described as a mistake "we've made in the past." He added that he will look at every budget area where savings, efficiencies and balance can be achieved.

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