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Pentagon unveils AI-powered ‘Autonomous Warfare Command,’ taps Elon Musk for key role

October 2, 2026

The Pentagon will establish a new Autonomous Warfare Command (AutoWarCom) to integrate and oversee AI-powered drone systems in US military operations, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced in his “State of the Force” address on 30 September.

During his second annual speech to Marines at the Quantico base in Virginia on Wednesday, Hegseth stated that drone warfare “supercharged” by AI targeting is the “biggest battlefield revolution in generations.”

The AutoWarCom will be granted “service-like authorities built to scale autonomous and robotic capabilities across the joint force in the fastest peacetime shift in modern military history,” Hegseth added.

Hegseth announces he is implementing AI-powered drone warfare pic.twitter.com/AHphAmh9NK

— FactPost (@factpostnews) September 30, 2026

Hegseth announced that AutoWarCom will be led by a four-star general and should become operational by October 2027.

During the Pentagon’s war with Iran, US forces quickly exhausted their stocks of expensive, high-tech missile interceptors to defend against swarms of lower-cost Iranian drones and ballistic missiles.

In a memo released the day of his speech, Hegseth noted that the Pentagon’s long-time strategy “of buying fewer, increasingly sophisticated weapons” is no longer effective.

“Warfare… has changed dramatically and suddenly. Advanced computing now enables precise, low-cost weapons to be produced at massive scale. These systems increasingly threaten our costly legacy platforms and disrupt our force projection. Urgent change is required,” he wrote.

Drone warfare has also come to dominate the fighting between Russia and Ukraine since 2022.

“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,” Hegseth said.

The US is following Israel’s lead by incorporating AI-driven targeting systems for airstrikes using autonomous drones.

Israel has Palantir software to target and slaughter Hamas members and their wives and children as part of its genocide in Gaza.

The US military has tried to blame overreliance on AI-targeting systems for a US missile strike on an elementary school in Minab city on the first day of the war on Iran in February. The strike killed at least 157 people, including 123 children.

We completed the investigation at Minab school, so Donald Trump doesn't have to.

Triple tap U.S Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired on a busy school day. Many children were still alive after the first strike. As some tried to flee, they were targeted again – this time with… pic.twitter.com/tPEh3Otcju

— Bushra Shaikh (@Bushra1Shaikh) April 30, 2026

The Secretary of War also announced that Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, will co-lead Project Meridian, a Pentagon project to study the future of warfare.

A defense department press release described the project’s goal as “identifying the capabilities required to achieve absolute technological dominance on the next-generation battlefield.”

The four-month project will produce an unclassified public report outlining its recommendations.

Shortly after US President Donald Trump was re-elected, he tapped Musk to oversee a new government agency, DOGE, which was allegedly devoted to reducing waste in government agencies.

During his speech at Quantico, Hegseth also called for a 20 percent reduction in the positions reserved for US military generals and admirals.

Hegseth framed the cuts as necessary to streamline bureaucracy and enforce accountability.

“He’s got some kind of like deep-seated grievance about leadership in the military,” stated Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former Navy combat pilot. “He’s purging a generation of great leaders of the military, and it’s going to take a generation to recover from it.”

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says he is firing 20% of the military’s generals and admirals as part of his “anti-woke” overhaul.

He also announced a new technology-focused warfare division co-led by Elon Musk. pic.twitter.com/LTdXhfMXXE

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 1, 2026