Signal Pentagon announces Autonomous Warfare Command (AutoWarCom)

Summary

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the creation of an Autonomous Warfare Command (AutoWarCom) in a speech to troops at Quantico, Virginia, on September 30, 2026. The command is to be led by a four-star commander who has not yet been named. A Pentagon memo sets October 1, 2027 as its target date for going online. Its stated purpose is to fuse procurement with operations so that autonomous and robotic assets can be adopted rapidly across the joint force. Hegseth cited lessons from the war in Ukraine as the motivation. An interim effort called Project Agincourt will prototype new procurement and operational structures over the next year.