"At my direction, we are announcing the creation of Autonomous Warfare Command, or AUTOWARCOM, a new four-star combatant command with service-like authorities built to scale autonomous and robotic capabilities across the joint force in the fastest peacetime shift in modern military history,” Secretary Pete Hegseth declared.
What AUTOWARCOM is meant to be
The Pentagon unveiled plans for a new functional combatant command, tentatively named Autonomous Warfare Command (AUTOWARCOM). The secretary described it as a four‑star command with “service‑like authorities” intended to integrate and scale autonomous and robotic capabilities across the joint force. A Pentagon memo released alongside the speech makes clear the command’s establishment is contingent on Congressional approval and sets a target date of October 1, 2027, for its stand‑up.
Operational intent: testing, adaptation, and the "high‑low mix"
The memo says AUTOWARCOM will “define joint needs and integrate Service‑provided forces in support of geographic combatant commanders,” test equipment and force designs against realistic opposition, and “modify rapidly, and field what works.” Secretary Hegseth framed the effort around a change in warfare tempo driven by “cheap compute, super intelligence, and advanced commercial manufacturing,” arguing the U.S. must combine high‑end “bolts of lightning” systems with mass, attritable autonomous systems to impose “unrelenting pressure on an adversary.” The administration is using “SI” as shorthand for “super intelligence.”
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See what we buildProject Agincourt and the new acquisition model
Project Agincourt will be led by the office of the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems (DRPM‑UxS). The Pentagon named Owen West, head of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), as chief executive officer of the DRPM‑UxS, and U.S. Navy SEAL Senior Chief Max Strasiser as chief operating officer. The project explicitly aims to prototype a “warfighting acquisition” construct that fuses operators with entrepreneurs, distributes decision authority and funding closer to frontline units and combatant commands, and compresses innovation timelines through realistic exercises — and, when possible, the “crucible of combat.” Hegseth also said the departments will phase in new MOS frameworks to create career paths and institutional knowledge for “autonomous warfighters.”
Project Meridian: futures, membership, and a tight deadline
Project Meridian is pitched as a complementary, forward‑looking effort to identify and map the domains and technologies the military must master “from under the Earth to beyond the Moon.” The project is to be led by the Pentagon’s chief technology officer, Emil Michael, and draw on perspectives from technologists, innovators, business leaders, policy makers, and national security experts. Secretary Hegseth named Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey, and Newt Gingrich as key members. Project Meridian has a rapid schedule: Hegseth demanded a final report no later than 120 days from the announcement, or January 28, 2027.
Industrial capacity, budgets, and political dependencies
Hegseth tied the new initiatives to broader efforts to expand the defense industrial base and warned of constraints that could limit progress. The speech highlighted partnerships with both smaller entrants and established contractors to grow capacity, reiterated the administration’s $1.5 trillion defense spending plan for Fiscal Year 2027, and called on Congress to pass an additional $350 billion reconciliation package. The Pentagon memo and the secretary’s remarks note that Congressional approval and the uncertainties of annual budgeting will be key factors shaping whether AUTOWARCOM and the projects that feed it can move from vision to fielded capability. The memo also places these moves alongside existing efforts such as Drone Dominance, Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF‑401), and the Replicator initiative.
What this means for service members, defense innovators, and Congress
- Service members and warfighters: Expect new MOS frameworks across departments and a focus on “fielding what works” through exercises and operator‑led adaptation at the edge.
- Defense innovators and entrepreneurs: Project Agincourt’s “warfighting acquisition” model promises closer operator‑entrepreneur collaboration and faster decision cycles, while Project Meridian will solicit outside technologists and business leaders for future capability mapping.
- Congress and procurement leaders: Congressional approval is required for AUTOWARCOM; the effort’s success will hinge on budget decisions, industrial base expansion, and how procurement authorities are reallocated or retained.
The announcements lay out an ambitious timetable and a broad institutional redesign centered on autonomy, robotics, and “super intelligence.” They also leave concrete answers pending: AUTOWARCOM’s legal and budgetary architecture must clear Congress, the prototype acquisition model must demonstrate scalability, and Project Meridian’s recommendations must pass from study into funded programs. The next definitive dates to watch are October 1, 2027 — the target for AUTOWARCOM’s establishment — and January 28, 2027, the deadline for Project Meridian’s final report.
