Pentagon creates new ‘AutoWarCom’ command for autonomous warfare with drones and artificial intelligence

As Reuters reports, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday, September 30, at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, the creation of a new military command called “Autonomous Warfare Command” (AutoWarCom). The new command will be dedicated to building and distributing autonomous and robotic capabilities — drones and artificial intelligence — across the entire U.S. military, aiming to integrate them into every branch of the armed forces.

Hegseth said the command will initially be led by a four-star officer, whose name will be announced at a later stage. According to The Wall Street Journal, Owen West, director of the Defense Innovation Unit, and Max Strasiser, a test pilot and Navy SEAL with experience in robotic systems, will temporarily be placed at the head of the effort.

In his “State of the Force” speech, Hegseth argued the need for the new command: “The pace of war is changing faster than the process that supports it.” Lessons from Russia’s war in Ukraine, where drones account for about 70 percent of Russian losses, have accelerated this need: “Today we need quality AND quantity,” he said. Creating a new combatant command is a rare step — the last was U.S. Space Command in 2019; the U.S. currently has 11 combatant commands.

As CNN reports, Hegseth also announced “Project Agincourt,” an interim effort to reshape how the Pentagon buys, tests and deploys drones on the battlefield. According to a Pentagon memorandum, the new command aims to be fully operational in October 2027.

The Wall Street Journal also reports that Hegseth has tasked entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Palmer Luckey, as well as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, with studying the future of warfare through the “Project Meridian” initiative, with findings expected within 120 days.

Experts have expressed concerns about the risk of uncontrolled development of artificial intelligence. Both the U.S. and China are among the main drivers of AI development, and security experts in both countries have called for safeguards, including for nuclear weapons systems.