QUANTICO, Va. - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that the Pentagon will establish a new four-star Autonomous Warfare Command focused on rapidly developing and deploying drones, robotic systems and other autonomous technologies across the U.S. military.
Hegseth also directed the armed services to reduce the number of general and admiral positions by 20%, significantly expanding a senior-leadership reduction ordered last year.
The two changes were among a series of major defense initiatives Hegseth unveiled during his 2026 'State of the Force' address at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.
Reuters and The Associated Press independently reported the announcements Wednesday.
The new organization will be called the Autonomous Warfare Command, or Autowarcom.
Hegseth said it will be led by a four-star officer and will focus on building, integrating and providing autonomous and robotic capabilities across the military.
The announcement reflects a broader Pentagon effort to accelerate the adoption of inexpensive drones, artificial intelligence and commercially developed technology as battlefield tactics change rapidly.
A rare new military command
The creation of a new four-star command is unusual within the U.S. military.
Reuters noted that the last new U.S. combatant command was U.S. Space Command, which was reestablished in 2019.
The military currently has 11 combatant commands responsible for geographic regions or specific functional missions.
Hegseth did not provide a complete organizational chart for Autowarcom during Wednesday's speech, and additional details about its headquarters, personnel structure and relationship with the existing military services and combatant commands are expected later.
The Pentagon has already created organizations focused on autonomous warfare below the new command level.
The Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, established in 2025, has been coordinating the rapid development, integration and fielding of unmanned systems.
U.S. Southern Command also announced its own Autonomous Warfare Command initiative earlier this year to integrate autonomous and unmanned platforms into operations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Wednesday's announcement goes substantially further by establishing a four-star command intended to address autonomous warfare across the broader U.S. military.
Why the Pentagon is moving toward autonomous systems
Hegseth said the speed at which warfare is changing has outpaced the Pentagon's traditional development and acquisition processes.
He pointed to advances in inexpensive computing, artificial intelligence, commercial manufacturing and precision weapons as technologies that are changing how military forces can operate.
Recent wars have demonstrated the increasing importance of drones for reconnaissance, targeting, electronic warfare and direct attack.
Ukraine has relied extensively on inexpensive unmanned systems against Russian forces, adapting commercial and military drone technology at a pace far faster than traditional weapons-development programs.
Reuters reported estimates that drones now account for roughly 70% of Russian casualties in the war in Ukraine.
The U.S. military has also faced large numbers of inexpensive drones during its ongoing conflict with Iran.
Iranian forces have repeatedly used unmanned aircraft alongside missiles in attacks against U.S. and allied forces.
The contrast between low-cost attack drones and expensive defensive interceptors has become an increasingly important issue for Pentagon planners.
Hegseth said the military needs both highly sophisticated weapons and large quantities of lower-cost systems.
Autowarcom is intended to help overcome the lengthy procurement and development processes that can make it difficult for the military to adopt rapidly changing technology.
Artificial intelligence expected to play major role
The command's mission is expected to extend beyond remotely piloted drones.
Autonomous systems can use software and artificial intelligence to perform portions of navigation, targeting support, surveillance, logistics and other tasks with varying levels of human supervision.
The Pentagon has already begun incorporating artificial intelligence into command-and-control systems and battlefield data analysis.
Defense officials have also pushed the services to develop autonomous aircraft, maritime vessels, ground vehicles and collaborative systems capable of operating alongside human forces.
The rapid expansion of military artificial intelligence has raised questions about reliability, accountability and how much authority autonomous systems should have in lethal operations.
Reuters reported that security experts in both the United States and China have called for guardrails governing military AI, particularly around systems connected to nuclear weapons.
Hegseth's announcement did not detail new rules governing human control over weapons deployed through Autowarcom.
Pentagon officials have previously said humans remain involved in critical battlefield decision-making involving artificial intelligence.
20% reduction in senior officer positions
Alongside the autonomous-warfare initiative, Hegseth announced a substantial reduction in the number of general and flag officer positions.
The U.S. military has roughly 800 positions filled by one- through four-star generals and admirals.
Hegseth said the services will now be required to reduce those positions by 20% by Jan. 1, 2027.
The order doubles the 10% overall reduction Hegseth directed last year.
A 20% reduction from roughly 800 positions would amount to approximately 160 billets, although the exact number ultimately eliminated or downgraded will depend on how the Pentagon implements the directive.
Reuters reported ahead of the speech that the plan is not expected to consist simply of removing approximately one-fifth of current senior officers.
Instead, some future positions are expected to be downgraded so they no longer require a general or admiral, while other billets may be eliminated entirely.
The term 'billet' refers to an authorized military position rather than a specific person.
That distinction means the announced 20% reduction in general and flag officer billets is not necessarily equivalent to immediately firing 20% of currently serving generals and admirals.
Previous senior-rank reductions
Hegseth previously ordered a separate 20% reduction in the number of four-star officers and a 20% reduction in general officers within the National Guard.
The broader reduction announced Wednesday now applies across the approximately 800 general and flag officer positions throughout the military.
Hegseth described the move as an effort to reduce layers of leadership and increase accountability.
The Pentagon has argued that some senior positions can be consolidated, eliminated or performed at a lower rank without weakening military operations.
Hegseth has also removed or replaced a number of individual senior military leaders since taking office.
Those actions have generated disagreement in Congress over whether the restructuring is improving efficiency or removing too much experienced leadership.
Congressional reaction divided
Some lawmakers have questioned the scale and timing of the senior-officer reductions.
Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a Democrat and former Navy combat pilot who has criticized Hegseth's leadership changes, told the Associated Press that he believes the Pentagon is removing a generation of experienced military leaders.
Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he wanted more information about the rationale for the cuts.
Rounds said reducing an excessively top-heavy organization could have merit but that Congress needs to see the details of the plan.
The Pentagon has characterized the reductions as part of a broader effort to streamline decision-making and move resources toward operational capabilities.
The debate comes while U.S. forces are engaged in a prolonged conflict with Iran and while the military is attempting to replenish stocks of missiles and other weapons used during recent operations.
Future warfare study announced
Hegseth also announced a separate initiative intended to examine technologies and weapons that could shape warfare in coming decades.
The effort will include SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Palmer Luckey, the founder of defense technology company Anduril Industries.
According to the Associated Press, Hegseth said the group will study weapons and systems that future generations of U.S. forces may require.
He described the effort as looking at military competition across domains extending from underground operations to space.
The announcement adds another technology-focused initiative to a Pentagon strategy increasingly centered on commercial innovation and companies outside the military's traditional group of large defense contractors.
New base and other initiatives
Wednesday's State of the Force address included several additional changes beyond Autowarcom and the senior-officer reductions.
Hegseth announced plans to establish an Office of Religious Affairs within the department.
He also said the military intends to build a new base, which the Associated Press described as the first new U.S. military base in approximately 40 years.
Hegseth invited all 50 states to compete to host the installation.
The proposed base is expected to support approximately 15,000 to 25,000 service members.
Hegseth also announced an initiative aimed at making military installations capable of generating their own power, an effort intended to improve resilience if civilian electrical infrastructure is disrupted.
The Pentagon has not yet released complete details about the location, cost or construction schedule for the proposed installation.
Autonomous warfare already receiving major funding
The Pentagon had already begun directing significant resources toward autonomous systems before Wednesday's announcement.
Defense Department budget documents show $1 billion allocated during fiscal 2026 to expand the industrial base for one-way attack unmanned aerial systems.
Another $50 million was designated to accelerate one-way attack drones equipped with advanced autonomy.
Those funds were assigned through efforts overseen by the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group.
The Army has separately been directed to deploy unmanned systems and air- and ground-launched autonomous effects across its divisions while integrating artificial intelligence into higher-level command systems.
The creation of Autowarcom appears intended to give those previously dispersed efforts a more centralized command structure.
Relationship with existing commands still needs clarification
One important question following Wednesday's announcement is how Autowarcom will interact with the military's existing combatant commands, services and autonomous-warfare organizations.
U.S. Special Operations Command, Cyber Command, Space Command and other functional commands already develop or employ technology that can include autonomous capabilities.
The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Space Force also operate their own drone, robotics and artificial-intelligence programs.
The Pentagon has not yet publicly detailed which responsibilities will move to Autowarcom and which will remain with those organizations.
It is also not yet clear where the new command will be headquartered or when it will reach full operational capability.
Those implementation details will determine how significant a restructuring Autowarcom ultimately becomes.
A broader shift in how the military buys weapons
The strategic rationale behind Autowarcom reflects a challenge Pentagon leaders have acknowledged for years: traditional military procurement can take many years to move a new system from concept to battlefield deployment.
Commercial drone and artificial-intelligence technologies can evolve on timelines measured in months rather than decades.
That creates a risk that military systems are technologically outdated by the time traditional acquisition programs reach full production.
The Pentagon has increasingly sought to purchase commercial technology, rapidly modify existing systems and work with newer defense companies alongside traditional contractors.
Hegseth said Wednesday that the military must adapt its organizational processes to the accelerating pace of technological change.
What happens next
The Pentagon will now begin organizing the new Autonomous Warfare Command and selecting the four-star officer who will lead it.
Additional decisions are expected regarding its headquarters, staffing, authorities, budget and relationship with other military commands.
The armed services must simultaneously develop plans to reach the ordered 20% reduction in general and flag officer positions by Jan. 1, 2027.
Congress is likely to scrutinize both initiatives because senior military commands, general officer positions and major defense programs can involve statutory authorities, confirmation requirements and appropriated funding.
For the U.S. military, Wednesday's announcements represent a significant structural shift: fewer senior-officer billets at the top of the force while a new four-star organization is created specifically to accelerate autonomous and robotic warfare.