Hegseth Announces Drone Command, Project Meridian And 20% Cuts To US Generals

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced a sweeping overhaul of the US military, including a new Autonomous Warfare Command, a 20 per cent reduction in general and flag officer positions and a new initiative involving Elon Musk, Newt Gingrich and Palmer Luckey to study the future of warfare.

Hegseth made the announcements during his State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on Wednesday, his second such address. The changes come as the US remains seven months into its war with Iran, with American forces continuing to face missile and drone attacks and a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.

Hegseth said the Pentagon would double an earlier planned 10 per cent reduction in general and flag officer positions, taking the cuts to 20 per cent across roughly 800 positions. The reductions are to be completed by January 1, 2027. He described the move as accountability and a way to reduce unnecessary layers of senior-level bureaucracy while putting greater emphasis on frontline troops. Around 850 generals and admirals were on active duty across the Defence Department as of July 31.

Hegseth also announced Autonomous Warfare Command, or AutoWarCom, a new four-star combatant command with service-like authorities to scale autonomous and robotic capabilities across the US military. Its portfolio will include drones, artificial intelligence and command-and-control systems. The command is expected to become the first new US combatant command since Space Command was established in 2019.

Hegseth pointed to the Ukraine war as evidence of how quickly drone warfare is transforming battlefields. He said the lesson was not that one particular type of drone wins wars, but that the US needs systems capable of adapting rapidly to changing combat conditions. The announcement comes even as a US Army unit in Europe specialising in drone warfare was recently ordered to return to its traditional infantry role, prompting bipartisan lawmakers to seek an explanation.

Hegseth separately unveiled Project Meridian, a 120-day effort to examine the future of warfare and identify emerging technologies and capabilities the US military will need. Musk, Luckey and former Republican House Speaker Gingrich will co-lead the initiative, which will examine areas including artificial intelligence, autonomy, robotics and future weapons systems.

The Pentagon will also launch FORTRESS, a programme aimed at making major US military installations more energy-independent and resilient against attacks or disruptions to civilian power grids. Hegseth announced plans for the first new US military base in about four decades, inviting all 50 states to compete to host an installation capable of housing up to 25,000 troops.

The wider restructuring includes a new Office of Religious Affairs reporting directly to Hegseth, as well as a new Corps of Cadets programme involving five universities: Liberty University, Hillsdale College, Tuskegee University, Louisiana State University and Mississippi State University.

Hegseth also reiterated his broader effort to reshape military culture, including rolling back diversity programmes, reviewing ground combat units involving women and introducing testosterone-deficiency screening for male personnel. At the same time, the Pentagon faces pressure over weapons stockpiles depleted during the Iran war, while experts have warned that replenishing some heavily used weapons systems could take years.