Pentagon plans an Autonomous Warfare Command, targeting October 2027

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced plans for an Autonomous Warfare Command on 30 September 2026, in a "State of the Force" speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. A department release published the same day describes it as "a 4-star functional combatant command" meant "to scale autonomous warfare across the Joint Force", with a target date of 1 October 2027.

The command was one of six initiatives in the speech. This piece covers the two that concern autonomy and future technology: the command itself, with its interim vehicle Project Agincourt, and a study called Project Meridian.

What the command is meant to do

According to the signed memo setting up Project Agincourt, the Autonomous Warfare Command is to be a functional combatant command leading the Joint Force in unmanned and autonomous warfare. The memo says it "will possess directed manpower, budget, acquisition authorities and create dedicated military career pathways for Officers and Enlisted personnel."

The memo frames the case in terms of cost. "Advanced computing now enables precise, low-cost weapons to be produced at massive scale", it says. "These systems increasingly threaten our costly legacy platforms and disrupt our force projection."

In the speech, as reported by DefenseScoop, Hegseth said: "Ukraine's lesson is not that one type of drone wins wars, but rather the need for a purpose-built system that maximizes the ability to adapt". Air & Space Forces Magazine reports that he also said "Drone warfare supercharged by SI-enabled targeting is the biggest battlefield revolution in generations", and explains that SI stands for super intelligence, President Trump's preferred term for AI.

The department's release calls the move "the fastest peacetime operational shift in modern military history".

Project Agincourt: the interim step

The memo directs the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems (DRPM-UxS) to lead Project Agincourt. It names Owen West and Max Strasiser as "Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, respectively" of that office. The release describes West as "the current Director of DIU" and Strasiser as a Navy SEAL Senior Chief. Air & Space Forces Magazine says the project is named for the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.

Under the memo, Project Agincourt is to:

• establish "the pathway to the Autonomous Warfare Command" and "collaborate directly with Congress to secure necessary legislation with a target establishment date of October 1, 2027";
• prototype "a new acquisition model for unmanned and autonomous systems", whose output "is not a particular drone, but the ability to adapt in combat";
• submit a plan of action and milestones within 30 days, and report to the Secretary monthly.

The memo also asks the military departments to propose new or adapted occupational specialties "for unmanned and autonomous systems". Hegseth said in the speech, per DefenseScoop: "We need institutional knowledge and career paths for a new generation of autonomous warfighters".

Congress and money

The command needs legislation. Breaking Defense reports that creating it "is almost certain to require in-depth Congressional approval", and that a Senate version of the fiscal 2027 defence authorisation bill "calls on the Pentagon to establish a Robotic and Autonomous Systems Combatant Command." Defense-Aerospace.com quotes the Senate committee's summary as "permitting the establishment" of that command, and says "The bill permits, rather than requires, its creation." Air & Space Forces Magazine says that bill is still pending and the House would also have to approve the measure. It adds: "It is not yet clear how the new four-star command will be structured, who will lead it, or how it will work with the autonomy efforts already underway within the different services."

On funding, The National reports that the Pentagon "is seeking $54.6 billion for its Defence Autonomous Warfare Group in the 2027 fiscal year budget", up from $226 million this year. That is a request for an existing group, not a budget for the new command: Defense-Aerospace.com describes the group as "A SOCOM-subordinate organization, not a command", and says "DAWG itself is not new". It reported on 9 September that the House and Senate Armed Services Committees and the House Appropriations Committee "have each independently written down the same figure for DAWG: $1 billion." That matches the discretionary part of the request: the site says "$1.0 billion of it was discretionary" and "$53.6 billion was mandatory, meaning it depended on Congress separately passing a reconciliation bill", adding: "The committees did not reject the $53.6 billion. They were not in a position to act on it."

Project Meridian

A second memo directs the department's Chief Technology Officer, Emil Michael, "to commission Project Meridian: The Future of Warfare, through a partner organization." The memo cites "rapid advances in artificial intelligence, autonomy, directed energy, robotics, biotechnology" and says the study will "map the trajectory of future warfare, identify critical capability gaps, and propose actionable solutions".

The release says Meridian "will be co-directed by Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey, and Newt Gingrich". Breaking Defense identifies them as the SpaceX boss, the Anduril founder and the former Speaker of the House. The memo sets a deadline of 28 January 2027 for findings. According to the release, the project ends in "an unclassified, publicly released final report" with a classified annex.

Existing policy

The copy of DoD Directive 3000.09, "Autonomy in Weapon Systems", on the department's directives website is effective from 25 January 2023. It says autonomous and semi-autonomous weapon systems "will be designed to allow commanders and operators to exercise appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force." Neither the 30 September release nor the two memos we read refers to the directive.

Why it matters

The memo says "Initial work will proceed immediately under existing authorities", while the command itself depends on Congress. On our reading, three things are worth watching: whether legislation passes by the October 2027 target, how much of the $54.6 billion request is funded, and what the public Meridian report says when it arrives.