Elon Musk will co-lead a new Pentagon initiative called "Project Meridian," a 120-day study examining the future of warfare and recommending which weapons and capabilities the US military should develop, War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday, September 30, at a speech at the Quantico military base.
Who's Leading the Project
Musk will co-lead the effort alongside Palmer Luckey, the 34-year-old co-founder of defense technology company Anduril Industries, and Newt Gingrich, the 83-year-old Republican former House Speaker. The project will be co-directed by this trio under the supervision of the Pentagon's Chief Technology Officer, Emil Michael. Hegseth described it as "an effort led by America's best minds to study the future of warfare," saying its purpose is to "creatively look to the future and identify the domains that we must conquer and capabilities we must master."
What the Project Will Do
Project Meridian is tasked with looking years and even decades ahead to identify emerging domains of warfare and the capabilities the US military will need to dominate them. The project will include hand-picked private sector leaders and subject matter experts from across the innovation, academic, and policy ecosystems. Hegseth has directed the project's findings to be completed and submitted within 120 days. A separate memorandum, titled "The Future of Warfare," directed the Joint Staff and all military branches to connect their own future-warfare research and planning efforts to the project.
A New Command Announced Alongside It
Hegseth's Quantico speech also unveiled plans for a new four-star functional combatant command for autonomous warfare, called the Autonomous Warfare Command (AUTOWARCOM). The initiative reportedly includes dedicated occupational frameworks establishing career paths for personnel specializing in autonomous warfare — suggesting the Pentagon is treating this not just as a research exercise, but as the start of a broader institutional restructuring around autonomous and future-warfare capabilities.
Part of a Broader Package: "FORTRESS America"
Project Meridian was announced alongside a separate initiative called "FORTRESS America," which stands for Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy, Supply, and Survivability, and is aimed at making US military bases power-independent — a resilience measure distinct from, but announced in the same speech as, the future-warfare review.
Musk's Return to an Official Advisory Role
This marks Musk's return to officially advising the Trump administration. He previously served as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he spearheaded sweeping job cuts across the federal government, before departing that role in May 2025 amid a high-profile falling-out with Trump over the president's spending legislation. The two have since repaired their relationship.
Musk's Existing Pentagon Ties
Musk's companies are already major Pentagon contractors, including SpaceX, which is building satellite networks for Trump's planned "Golden Dome" missile defense shield. Luckey's company, Anduril, is similarly deeply embedded in US defense technology procurement, meaning both co-leaders bring direct commercial interests into a project tasked with recommending future military technology investments.
Musk's Political Spending Context
Musk spent more than $250 million backing Trump and other Republicans in the 2024 election, and has since given at least $90 million toward November's 2026 midterm elections, according to Federal Election Commission filings — a detail that adds context to his continued close alignment with the administration even after the earlier DOGE-era rift.
Potential Conflict-of-Interest Questions
Given that both Musk and Luckey lead companies that stand to benefit directly from Pentagon contracts tied to the capabilities Project Meridian may recommend, the arrangement is likely to draw scrutiny over whether private commercial interests could shape the project's conclusions — a tension inherent in bringing industry leaders into government advisory roles overseeing the same sectors they operate in commercially.
What's Next
With a 120-day timeline now in place, Project Meridian's findings are expected to be submitted to the Pentagon by early 2027, at which point the recommendations could shape future defense procurement and military strategy priorities. For continuing coverage, see the full Euronews report.