The project held its first meeting immediately after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s State of the Force speech Wednesday at Quantico, Virginia, and its full board met again Thursday at the Pentagon. Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael is facilitating the effort, which will examine domains ranging from underground combat to space around the moon. Hegseth said the study is not intended to set new strategy or policy.
Hegseth also announced Autonomous Warfare Command, a proposed four-star combatant command with authorities similar to those of a military service to expand drone and robotic capabilities across the armed forces. The Pentagon plans to seek legislation from Congress to establish it, with a target launch of Oct. 1, 2027.