US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is moving to reshape the Pentagon’s workforce and the way America fights its wars, unveiling a set of sweeping announcements that could leave a lasting mark on the department. Speaking to rank-and-file troops at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on Wednesday, in what was billed as a ‘State of the Force’ address, Hegseth announced the creation of a new combatant command dedicated entirely to drone warfare, plans for a massive new military base on American soil, and a forward-looking initiative to identify the technologies that will define future conflict.The centrepiece of the announcement was the new Autonomous Warfare Command, which will be tasked with building and providing autonomous and robotic capabilities across the US military. Creating an entirely new combatant command is a rare move, the last time it happened was with Space Command in 2019, and the decision demonstrates the Pentagon’s broader shift away from costly conventional weapons platforms towards cheaper, AI-driven autonomous systems that have proven decisive in recent conflicts. The command will be led by a four-star officer, and once operational, will take the total number of US combatant commands to twelve, each overseeing a distinct region or specialised mission.The driving force behind this shift is impossible to miss, Russia’s war in Ukraine. A conflict that began dominated by tanks and artillery has steadily transformed into a drone war, with Ukraine turning to cheap unmanned systems for both reconnaissance and attack after finding itself outgunned in conventional armour and aircraft. Drones are now estimated to account for roughly 70% of Russian casualties in the conflict, allowing strikes to be carried out remotely while sharply reducing risk to pilots and aircrews, a lesson the Pentagon is clearly trying to absorb quickly.As an interim step ahead of the new command becoming fully operational, Hegseth has set up Project Agincourt, a year-long effort meant to clear the path forward. The project will prototype what Hegseth called “warfighting acquisition, not just acquisition that happens at the Pentagon,” a model designed to link military operators directly with entrepreneurs in fast adaptation cycles while pushing decision-making and funding closer to frontline units. Defence Innovation Unit Director Owen West has been appointed to lead the effort. Alongside this, Hegseth also announced Project Meridian, aimed at identifying the domains the US military must dominate next and the technologies it will need to master quickly. The project is being commissioned by Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael, with SpaceX’s Elon Musk, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich serving as co-directors.Beyond the technology push, Hegseth also confirmed a significant restructuring of the military’s top ranks, announcing plans to shrink the general and admiral corps by 20% compared to levels at the start of the Trump administration, with another 10 percent of top officers to be cut by the end of the year. Federal law currently authorises 857 active-duty general and admiral positions, of which 851 were filled as of July 31, meaning the planned reduction would remove roughly 170 officers from chains of command, leaving around 680 in charge of key military organisations worldwide. Some positions will be downgraded to be filled by Colonels and Navy Captains, while others will be eliminated entirely. Hegseth has previously criticised the department as too top-heavy, and has fired or blocked promotions for more than 80 generals and admirals since taking charge in January 2025.
