The US is working with Elon Musk and other tech founders to build the “future of warfare”, it has announced.
The work will include building “the weapons and systems” of the future to allow the US to dominate “any future battlefield, from under the Earth to beyond the moon”, said Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary.
The announcements were part of a broader ‘State of the Force’ speech given by Mr Hegseth, in which he laid out a range of changes to the US military.
Two of those focused on the increased use of technology, including “autonomous and robotic capabilities”, in war. The first was the establishment of an “Autonomous Warfare Command” that will use drones and artificial intelligence in the military, and another was the launch of “Project Meridian”.
Project Meridian will be led by Mr Musk, as well as former metaverse pioneer Palmer Luckey, alongside others. It aims to “examine the full spectrum of future warfighting domains, from subterranean depths to the cislunar frontier”, the government said.
“Project Meridian will discover and accelerate the fielding of advanced systems needed to guarantee decisive deterrence,” a press release from the US government said. “Should deterrence fail, our warfighters must enter any future conflict with the technological advantage secured through today's foresight, resolve, and preparation.”
Alongside that work, the establishment of the new Autonomous Warfare Command was aimed at addressing the increasing use of AI, drones and other technology in warfare.
Creating a new command is not common — the last one was US Space Command in 2019 — and the move reflects the Pentagon's push to shift from costly conventional weapons platforms to cheaper, AI-driven autonomous systems that have proved decisive in recent conflicts.
Speaking in front of hundreds of junior officers and enlisted personnel at Quantico, Virginia, in a speech peppered with attacks on the media, Hegseth said the command would be led by a four-star officer.
"The pace of war is changing faster than the process to support it," Mr Hegseth said.
"Cheap compute, superintelligence, and advanced commercial manufacturing have enabled the proliferation of low-cost, high-precision strike," Hegseth added.
The US military currently has 11 combatant commands, which are responsible for different parts of the world and specific tasks.
Experts have expressed fears over the potential for unchecked AI development and technology rivalries that could further heighten risks across the global security environment.
Both China and the US — the two major drivers of cutting-edge AI development and its global adoption — have been at loggerheads over AI policies and industry practices. Security experts from both countries have called for guardrails and consensus-building regarding AI in military systems, including nuclear weapons.
The United States has long relied on its vast military budget to field some of the world's most expensive weapons systems. But there is an increasing realization within the Pentagon that this is not sustainable.
"Today we need both quality and quantity," Hegseth said.
The technology of war has evolved rapidly in recent years, a shift starkly illustrated by Russia's war in Ukraine.
What began as a conflict dominated by tanks and artillery has increasingly become a drone war.
Outgunned in conventional armor and aircraft, Ukraine turned to inexpensive unmanned systems for reconnaissance and attack. Drones are estimated to account for about 70% of Russian casualties, enabling strikes to be carried out remotely and reducing the risk to pilots and aircrews.
The Pentagon has in recent years made some progress, including the creation of a task force — Joint Interagency Task Force 401 — that is focused on countering drones.
Additional reporting by agencies
