Army Establishes New Autonomy Command, Accelerates Acquisition Efforts

"Secretary of War Pete Hegseth made it clear: We are done with the bureaucratic inertia holding back modernization," Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle said in a statement provided to Breaking Defense.

Creation of the Army Futures and Autonomous Systems Command (FASCOM)

A Thursday memo reviewed by Breaking Defense and signed by Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle orders the creation of the Army Futures and Autonomous Systems Command, or FASCOM. The memo, titled "Army Autonomous Initiatives," frames FASCOM as the service-level organization intended to accelerate getting "cutting-edge technology into the hands of Soldiers" and to prioritize autonomy across formations, acquisitions, and training.

New Program Acquisition Executive (PAE) for Autonomy

The same order designates a new Program Acquisition Executive for Autonomy. The memo makes an explicit organizational change: autonomy efforts that are currently under Capability Portfolio Executive Mission Autonomy — which itself falls under PAE Layered Protection and Integration — will now be reoriented under the newly designated PAE for Autonomy. That office is ordered to "prioritize the acquisition and fielding of" a set of autonomous capabilities no later than fiscal 2028.

Targets and timelines for autonomous systems

The memo instructs the new PAE to prioritize the acquisition and fielding of autonomous fires, combat vehicles, watercraft resupply, and manned-unmanned platform collaborative teaming, among other systems, with a target of no later than fiscal 2028. It also directs new "autonomous force development[s]" to create force structure aligned with autonomous capabilities in aviation, armored, sustainment, and training formations.

Personnel and specialty authorizations: 15X and 390A

The order directs the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs to expand authorizations for two named specialties: 15X, described in the memo as the tactical unmanned aircraft systems specialist unit, and 390A, the robotics technician specialist unit. The memo specifies that those authorizations shall be expanded "to all applicable Army units."

How Soldiers and acquisition leaders, and manpower offices will respond

• Soldiers and Army units: Units designated as "applicable" will see expanded authorizations for 15X and 390A personnel, and the memo frames FASCOM as a driver to get autonomous systems into operational formations.
• Acquisition and program offices: Program managers will report into a new PAE for Autonomy and are ordered to accelerate procurement and fielding of autonomous fires, combat vehicles, watercraft resupply, and collaborative teaming no later than fiscal 2028; the move shifts autonomy work away from the existing Capability Portfolio Executive Mission Autonomy structure.
• Manpower and training offices: The Assistant Secretary for Manpower and Reserve Affairs is tasked with expanding specialist authorizations, while the memo also mandates autonomous force developments to reshape aviation, armored, sustainment, and training formations to align with the new capabilities.

The memo and the Army's actions are presented in the context of broader Pentagon initiatives announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, including a new four-star Autonomous Warfare Command (AUTOWARCOM) centered on drones and related technology and a new working group on the future of defense. Breaking Defense notes these Army steps were first reported by Axios and ties them to an ongoing push to scale drone production that includes the Drone Dominance program, the creation of the Army-led Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF-401), and the earlier creation of a Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager (DRPM) for autonomy.

The Army's written order sets a clear, measurable near-term benchmark — fiscal 2028 — while reorganizing acquisition authority and expanding specialty authorizations. Implementation will involve standing up a command (FASCOM), placing autonomy under a single PAE, reshaping force structure for aviation, armored, sustainment and training formations, and expanding 15X and 390A across applicable units. The next concrete milestones to watch are the formal activation steps for FASCOM and the new PAE, the issuance of detailed acquisition plans tied to the fiscal 2028 deadline, and the personnel authorization actions from the Assistant Secretary for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.

Original reporting: https://breakingdefense.com/2026/10/army-to-establish-new-autonomy-command-acquisition-executive/