Overview
- The Pentagon announced the new Autonomous Warfare Command during Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s State of the Force address Wednesday, saying it will be led by a four-star officer and would add a twelfth combatant command once authorized.
- Hegseth launched Project Agincourt as a year-long prototype to speed warfighting acquisition with Defense Innovation Unit director Owen West named to lead the effort.
- Pentagon CTO Emil Michael commissioned Project Meridian to map future domains and technologies with Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey and Newt Gingrich named as co-directors, prompting questions about conflicts of interest.
- Hegseth also announced plans to shrink the general and admiral corps by about 20 percent with a further 10 percent reduction targeted by year-end as resources are shifted toward autonomous capabilities.
- Officials say the push is driven by battlefield lessons from Ukraine and commercial AI advances, but the command is in an interim phase with funding, legal authorities and congressional approval still unresolved.