Overview
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the new Autonomous Warfare Command on Wednesday to centralize buying, testing, and fielding of drones and other autonomous systems.
- The command carries four‑star status to give it greater authority in service budget and turf disputes and is planned to be fully operational by October 2027.
- Hegseth paired the command with the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems and launched Project Agincourt to pilot faster, combat‑focused acquisition and testing.
- He named former officials Owen West and Max Strasiser to lead the initial Agincourt effort and unveiled Project Meridan with private‑sector chairs including Palmer Luckey and Elon Musk in advisory roles.
- The effort comes in response to lessons from Ukraine, but the command still needs staff, funding, formal legal authorities, and congressional approval before it can carry out its mandate.