Pentagon plans four-star autonomous warfare command for drones and AI

The Pentagon is in the process of setting up a new combat command, which will be centered on drones and autonomous systems. This will mean the military’s experimentation with the technologies these systems rely on will now be turned into a structure that is going to be permanent.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the Autonomous Warfare Command, or AutoWarCom, on September 30 in Quantico, Virginia, claiming that warfare is transforming faster than the systems that are designed to help it.

A combatant command built for unmanned war

According to Reuters, AutoWarCom would be managed by a four-star officer and monitor the use of autonomous and robotic technologies throughout the armed services. Once established, it will be designated as the Pentagon’s 12th combatant command, joining the 11 already in place, including US Space Command, created in 2019.

According to the memorandum from the Department of War concerning Project Agincourt, the start date for the establishment is October 1, 2027, and the unmanned-systems portfolio manager is entrusted with making necessary preparations for the command as well as collaborating with Congress to develop relevant legislation.

The first page of the memorandum designates Owen West and Max Strasiser as CEO and COO, respectively. It also states that “procrastination puts American lives at risk.”

Why this is bigger than a drone story

The opportunity is not limited to drones. AutoWarCom could also boost demand for the technologies that make autonomous warfare possible, from targeting software and sensors to computer vision, command-and-control systems, cloud and edge computing, cybersecurity and autonomous platforms.

That demand is feeding into a rapidly growing military AI market. Fortune Business Insights puts the value of the military AI market at $22.41 billion in 2026 and expects it to reach $101.02 billion by 2034, with Asia-Pacific posting the fastest growth.

The Pentagon is already expanding its partnerships with companies developing AI technologies. A May 1 announcement indicated that SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, Nvidia, Reflection, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services will all take part in classified-network deployments.

Oracle was added later that day, making the total to eight firms. This expansion comes at a time when the use of AI is also on the rise in the Pentagon, with GenAI.mil, its own internal generative AI platform, acquiring over 1.3 million users in a matter of five months.

The economics driving the shift

The strategy indicates a fundamental change in battlefield economics. RAND claimed in January that inexpensive and competent AI-powered uncrewed systems could provide the advantage of “affordable mass” in some operations over smaller quantities of pricey platforms. Ukraine is a real-life example of this change; according to estimates from Reuters, drones are reportedly responsible for about 70% of Russia’s casualties.

Hegseth summed up the procurement challenge: “Today we need both quality and quantity.”

Governance lags the capability

The technology is advancing faster than the rules around it. CIGI described Ukraine, Gaza and Iran as laboratories for machine-assisted warfare that is, for now, “governed by no one.” Carnegie scholar Steve Feldstein warned Congress in September of a “norms vacuum” as military AI spreads.

Those concerns are also shaping disputes with AI companies. Cryptopolitan has reported that Anthropic remains under a Pentagon supply-chain-risk designation amid litigation over limits on autonomous weapons and mass surveillance.

What to watch next

AutoWarCom is not yet formally established. Project Agincourt requires a plan of action and milestones within 30 days and calls for congressional cooperation toward the October 2027 target. How lawmakers authorize and fund the command will determine how quickly the Pentagon can turn the plan into an operating force.

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