QUANTICO, United States – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced plans Wednesday to establish a new four-star Autonomous Warfare Command while confirming a 20% reduction in general and flag officer positions across the U.S. military.
Hegseth made the announcements during his “State of the Force” address at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, where he outlined a series of initiatives aimed at changing how the Pentagon develops technology, organizes senior leadership and prepares for future warfare.
The autonomous-warfare initiative would create a new combatant command responsible for expanding robotic and autonomous capabilities across the joint force. Hegseth said the command would have service-like authorities and would be led by a four-star officer.
New command would focus on autonomous systems
Hegseth called the planned organization the Autonomous Warfare Command, or AUTOWARCOM.
The command is intended to coordinate the development and deployment of autonomous and robotic systems, including drones, artificial intelligence and related command-and-control capabilities. Hegseth said the objective is to accelerate the movement of autonomous technology from development into military operations.
The Pentagon is not immediately standing up the command as a fully operational organization. A Defense Department planning document cited by Defense One sets a target of Oct. 1, 2027, for establishing AUTOWARCOM.
In the interim, Hegseth said the existing direct-reporting portfolio manager for unmanned offensive and defensive systems would be reorganized under a new effort called Project Agincourt. The interim organization is intended to develop a faster acquisition model while preparations continue for the new command.
Creating the command as a combatant command could also require congressional action. Defense reporting noted that Congress has authority over the establishment and authorities of combatant commands, including acquisition authorities.
Pentagon targets 20% reduction in senior officer positions
Hegseth also confirmed that the Defense Department is pursuing an overall 20% reduction in general and flag officer positions.
The figure combines reductions undertaken during his tenure. Hegseth said the Pentagon had already reduced the number of generals and admirals by 10% and had reduced the number of general officer positions by an additional 10%, producing what he described as a 20% reduction across the force.
The measure concerns billets and positions, rather than meaning that 20% of all currently serving generals and admirals will necessarily be dismissed.
Reuters reported before the speech that some positions would be eliminated while others could be downgraded to lower ranks.
Hegseth had already ordered reductions in senior officer positions in 2025. The earlier effort included targets affecting four-star positions and general officers in the National Guard.
Autonomous warfare follows expanding drone use
The new command comes as the Pentagon seeks to expand the military’s use of relatively inexpensive autonomous systems.
Hegseth pointed to lessons from recent conflicts, particularly the use of drones in Ukraine, as evidence of the need to change how the military develops, purchases and deploys autonomous technology. He said the Pentagon needed systems capable of adapting rapidly as battlefield technology changes.
The initiative would bring together operators, engineers and technology developers through a faster acquisition process. Project Agincourt is intended to move some acquisition decisions and resources closer to combatant commands and frontline units.
The Pentagon’s approach represents a planned organizational change rather than evidence that autonomous weapons have replaced conventional military systems. The announcement establishes a framework for development and deployment; implementation, authorities and funding remain subject to the department’s subsequent actions and, where required, congressional approval.
Other initiatives announced at Quantico
Hegseth’s speech included several initiatives beyond autonomous warfare and officer reductions.
He announced Project Meridian, a study of future warfare involving SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. The group is expected to examine future military domains and capabilities.
He also announced plans for an Office of Religious Affairs that would report directly to the defense secretary, as well as an effort intended to increase energy independence at military installations.
Another proposal calls for construction of a new U.S. military base, which Hegseth described as the first new base of its kind in decades. The Pentagon said the proposed installation would support distributed command and control as well as cyber and technological capabilities.
The initiatives form part of Hegseth’s broader effort to reorganize the Pentagon around what he describes as warfighting, technological modernization and military readiness.
Implementation remains ahead
The Autonomous Warfare Command is still a planned organization, and its proposed authorities and structure will need to be developed before it becomes operational.
The Pentagon’s target of Oct. 1, 2027, gives the department roughly a year to establish the command under the announced timetable. Congressional involvement could be required for portions of the new command’s legal authorities.
The general-officer reductions are further along but also concern the military’s organizational structure rather than a single mass dismissal event. Positions can be eliminated, downgraded or otherwise reorganized as the services implement the Pentagon’s directives.
Hegseth’s announcements therefore combine two different changes: an effort to create a new military command centered on autonomous warfare and a continuing restructuring of the senior officer corps.
The immediate significance is the direction set by the defense secretary. The longer-term effect will depend on how the Pentagon implements the organizational changes, how Congress responds to required authorities and funding, and whether the planned command reaches its stated 2027 target.
Reporting Credit: U.S. Department of Defense; Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS); U.S. Department of Defense official State of the Force materials.
