Hegseth announces four-star Autonomous Warfare Command

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the creation of a four-star Autonomous Warfare Command on September 30, saying it would coordinate the development, acquisition, testing and deployment of autonomous and robotic military systems across the U.S. military. The announcement describes a planned organization; the sources do not establish that the command is already operational. Hegseth made the announcement during his State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. He said the command would focus on capabilities including drones, robotics and artificial intelligence, and would be led by a four-star officer. The stated goal is to speed the military’s response to changing battlefield needs and bring operators and technology development closer together. Hegseth also announced Project Agincourt, an interim effort intended to test an operating model for the future command. He named former Assistant Defense Secretary Owen West and Navy SEAL Senior Chief Max Strasiser to lead the project over the next year.