Hegseth tasks Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey and Newt Gingrich with 'Project Meridian' warfare study

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has tasked entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Palmer Luckey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with studying the future of warfare, announcing the new effort in a speech to troops at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, on Wednesday.

Called “Project Meridian”, the study will be led by the Pentagon to uncover new ideas about how future generations will fight, with findings due in 120 days. Musk, Luckey — the founder of defence technology firm Anduril Industries — and Gingrich attended the speech. Hegseth called them “three great Americans” and said their work would focus on “discovering, developing, and fielding the weapons and systems that our children and our grandchildren will need in their lifetimes, without any creative limitations or restrictions, on any future battlefield, from under the Earth to beyond the Moon”.

According to CNN’s reporting on the address, the three will chair a study group examining how the United States should prepare for future conflicts.

Hegseth also unveiled a new four-star combatant command for autonomous warfare, dubbed “AutoWarCom”, which will overhaul how the Pentagon buys, tests and deploys drones and other cutting-edge technology. He said the command would be directed to buy new drones and robotics “in the fastest peacetime shift in modern military history”, and that it would be functional in October 2027. Former Marine and Goldman Sachs trader Owen West and Navy SEAL test pilot Max Strasiser were tapped to lead the initial stand-up, with a four-star officer yet to be named taking over.

The announcements came in Hegseth’s annual “State of the Force” address before around 600 junior officers and noncommissioned officers, on the anniversary of his September 2025 Quantico speech. Hegseth also confirmed the department’s 20 per cent reduction in general and flag officer positions, and rolled out further initiatives including a “Fortress America” plan to give US bases independent power supplies and a new Office of Religious Affairs.

Sources

• The Wall Street Journal: “Hegseth Unveils New Command to Oversee Military Drone Tech”, 30 Sept 2026 — https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/hegseth-unveils-new-command-to-oversee-military-drone-tech-d5b68073
• The Wall Street Journal: “Five Takeaways From Hegseth’s Speech”, 30 Sept 2026 — https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/five-takeaways-from-hegseths-speech-98921f71
• New York Post: “Pete Hegseth unveils plans for new US military base, touts ‘testosterone testing’ for warriors in Pentagon speech”, 30 Sept 2026 — https://nypost.com/2026/09/30/us-news/pete-hegseth-unveils-plans-for-new-us-military-base-touts-testosterone-testing-for-warriors-in-pentagon-speech-no-wimps-no-radicals/
• CNN (via KION): “Hegseth announces new autonomous weapons command while repeating attacks on ‘woke’ culture during speech to troops”, 30 Sept 2026 — https://kioncentralcoast.com/politics/cnn-us-politics/2026/09/30/hegseth-announces-new-autonomous-weapons-command-while-repeating-attacks-on-woke-culture-during-speech-to-troops/