The Pulse
Hegseth Plans Four-Star Command for Autonomous Warfare
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced plans for a four-star Autonomous Warfare Command to expand autonomous and robotic systems across the U.S. military. The proposal sets an October 1, 2027 target and comes alongside plans to reduce gen
AI.info Team · Written with AI ·
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants the U.S. military to create a four-star command for autonomous warfare while cutting the number of general and admiral positions by 20%. He announced both plans on September 30 at Marine Corps Base Quantico, setting out an expansion of senior command authority even as his department shrinks the ranks of top officers. The new command is a proposal, not an established organization: the Pentagon must work with Congress on legislation, and its target date is October 1, 2027.
A new command as senior ranks shrink
Hegseth called the proposed organization Autonomous Warfare Command, or AutoWarCom, and described it as a four-star combatant command with “service-like authorities” to expand autonomous and robotic capabilities across the joint force. “The pace of war is changing faster than the process to support it,” he said during his State of the Force address. The Defense Department’s video of the speech records the announcement.
The command’s proposed scope includes more than developing drones. A memo described by Stars and Stripes says it would have assigned manpower, budget and acquisition authority, as well as dedicated career paths for officers and enlisted personnel. The Pentagon is to work with Congress on the legal authority needed to establish it by the target date.
At the same event, Hegseth said the military would reduce general and admiral positions by 20%, doubling a 10% reduction he ordered last spring. He said the decrease should be completed by January 1, 2027, according to the Associated Press. The parallel moves put a new four-star headquarters on the department’s agenda while it plans to remove one in five positions held by senior officers.
Ukraine’s drone lessons shape the pitch
Hegseth pointed to the changing pace of combat and Ukraine’s use of drones as reasons to reorganize how the military fields autonomous systems. “Ukraine’s lesson is not that one type of drone wins wars, but rather the need for a purpose-built system that maximizes the ability to adapt,” he said. He argued that the military needs both advanced weapons and lower-cost systems it can produce and adjust at scale.
The proposal builds on efforts already underway, including the Drone Dominance Program and Task Force 401, which focuses on countering drones. Hegseth also said the Pentagon’s unmanned-systems portfolio manager would become Project Agincourt, an interim step intended to bring military operators and technology developers closer together in testing and acquisition. The speech did not settle how the future command would divide responsibilities with existing service programs and task forces.
Congress and critics stand between announcement and command
The planned headquarters will need congressional action, while its full structure and command relationships remain unresolved. That leaves a gap between Hegseth’s stated 2027 goal and an operating command with legally defined powers. The proposal’s promised control over budgets, personnel and purchasing would give the organization a substantial role in shaping how the services adopt autonomous systems.
The senior-officer cuts also drew criticism from lawmakers. Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona and former Navy combat pilot, told AP that Hegseth was “purging a generation of great leaders of the military,” warning that rebuilding the experience could take a generation. Republican Senator Mike Rounds said he wanted to see the reasoning before judging whether reducing senior positions made sense.
For now, the Pentagon has announced a target and a planning process, not a functioning four-star command. Congress must help provide the authority, and the department still has to define how AutoWarCom would work alongside the military’s existing drone programs.