Pentagon unveils four-star Autonomous Warfare Command for drones, AI

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on September 30, 2026, that the US Department of War will establish an Autonomous Warfare Command (AUTOWARCOM), a four-star combatant command dedicated to unmanned and autonomous warfare, with a target establishment date of October 1, 2027. 

Hegseth unveiled the command in a State of the Force address to about 600 O-3 officers and E-6 enlisted personnel at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. It was the first of six initiatives he announced in the speech. 

He described AUTOWARCOM as a combatant command “with service-like authorities” built to scale autonomous and robotic capabilities across the joint force. 

Project Agincourt lays out the road to AUTOWARCOM 

A memorandum Hegseth signed the same day, titled “Project Agincourt: Pathway to the Autonomous Warfare Command,” sets out the interim steps. 

It describes AUTOWARCOM as a functional combatant command that would hold its own manpower, budget and acquisition authorities, while creating dedicated career paths for officers and enlisted personnel. 

The memo assigns Project Agincourt to the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems (DRPM-UxS) and gives the office 30 days to submit a plan of action and milestones, with support from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

DRPM-UxS is also directed to work with Congress on the legislation needed to establish the command by October 1, 2027. 

The military departments are separately directed to create military occupational specialties, ratings or equivalent career fields for unmanned and autonomous systems. 

Hegseth said Defense Innovation Unit Director Owen West and US Navy SEAL Senior Chief Max Strasiser would guide Project Agincourt, and that a four-star commander would be named soon.  

AUTOWARCOM grows out of Pentagon drone consolidation 

The new command extends a reorganization that began on June 29, 2026, when Hegseth signed a memorandum making DRPM-UxS the single joint integrator for unmanned and autonomous system programs, reporting to the Deputy Secretary of War. 

According to the Department of War’s July 1, 2026, announcement, the office took oversight of unmanned activities and funding lines across the services, Joint Interagency Task Force 401, the Defense Innovation Unit and the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group. 

That consolidation followed Hegseth’s July 2025 directive to speed up drone procurement and fielding, and the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance program for acquiring low-cost unmanned systems. West previously led the Pentagon DOGE team’s effort to scale up small-drone purchases. 

A joint-force command 

AUTOWARCOM would sit at a different level from the SOUTHCOM Autonomous Warfare Command announced on April 21, 2026, by US Marine Corps General Francis L. Donovan, commander of US Southern Command. 

The SOUTHCOM organization serves the command’s area of responsibility in Latin America and the Caribbean. AUTOWARCOM, by contrast, is intended to lead unmanned and autonomous warfare across the entire joint force. 

If established, AUTOWARCOM would be the first combatant command to be stood up since US Space Command was re-established in 2019.The post Pentagon unveils four-star Autonomous Warfare Command for drones, AI appeared first on AeroTime.

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