BACK IN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Elon Musk Tapped With Palmer Luckey and Newt Gingrich to Help Chart the Future of American Warfare

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Elon Musk is returning to a role in the Trump administration, this time as one of three high-profile figures chosen to help the Pentagon determine what weapons, technologies and battlefield capabilities American troops will need to fight the wars of the future.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that Musk, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will co-lead Project Meridian, a 120-day Pentagon initiative charged with looking years and even decades ahead at how warfare could change and what the United States will need to maintain a military advantage.

The project will operate under the direction of War Department Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael and will draw on additional experts from technology, business, academia, public policy and national security. Its findings are due in January 2027 and will be released in a public report accompanied by a classified annex.

Musk’s selection marks a return to government work after his earlier role leading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE. This time, however, his focus will be squarely on national defense and emerging military technology.

Hegseth said the Pentagon deliberately chose prominent figures from outside the traditional defense bureaucracy because predicting future wars requires perspectives beyond those of career military planners.

“The best forecasters of future conflict do not solely reside inside the Pentagon,” Hegseth said during his State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico. “There are obvious biases and risks to asking ourselves to both ask the questions and answer them.”

Hegseth said Project Meridian would begin immediately. Following his address, he planned to meet with Musk, Luckey and Gingrich at a secure facility located only about 200 yards from where he delivered the speech.

Over the next 120 days, the group will “ruthlessly map the trajectory of wars, domains and technologies,” examining how conflict may evolve and identifying areas in which the United States could need new weapons or technological capabilities.

The scope is intentionally enormous. Hegseth said the examination will stretch “from under the Earth to beyond the moon.”

Project Meridian is expected to examine emerging fields including artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, robotics, directed-energy weapons and biotechnology, as well as future battlefields extending from subterranean environments to space.

Rather than writing a new national military strategy, the panel has been directed to identify technological gaps and determine where American research, development and weapons procurement should be concentrated.

Hegseth said the group will seek to identify “the domains that we must conquer and capabilities we must master” while focusing on “discovering, developing and fielding” the systems future American forces may require.

Musk and Luckey bring particularly significant ties to the defense industry. Musk’s SpaceX is already a major Pentagon contractor, providing launch services, satellite capabilities and other technology used by the U.S. government and military.

Luckey founded Anduril Industries, one of the most prominent companies in the rapidly growing defense-technology sector. Anduril develops autonomous aircraft, drones, surveillance systems and artificial-intelligence-powered military technology and has secured major Pentagon contracts.

Their involvement gives Project Meridian direct access to executives working at the cutting edge of commercial and military technology. It could also raise conflict-of-interest questions because companies associated with Musk and Luckey currently do business with the Pentagon while the project will be examining which technologies the military should prioritize in the years ahead.

Gingrich brings a different background to the panel. The former Republican House speaker has spent decades writing and speaking about national security, technological change and the need for the United States to anticipate emerging military threats.

Project Meridian is only one component of a much larger Pentagon overhaul unveiled by Hegseth during Wednesday’s State of the Force address.

Hegseth also announced plans to establish Autonomous Warfare Command, or AUTOWARCOM, a new four-star command designed specifically to accelerate the development and deployment of autonomous and robotic systems throughout the armed forces.

The command is expected to have what Hegseth described as “service-like authorities,” giving it substantial power to move technology from development into the hands of troops without becoming bogged down in the lengthy acquisition processes that have traditionally slowed Pentagon innovation.

The Pentagon’s goal is to have AUTOWARCOM established by October 2027. An interim effort known as Project Agincourt will begin laying the groundwork while Pentagon officials work with Congress on the authorities necessary to create the new command.

The War Department is also developing new military career tracks for personnel specializing in autonomous warfare, creating what Hegseth described as a new generation of “autonomous warfighters.”

“We should have been thinking about Autonomous Warfare Command ten years ago,” Hegseth said, explaining that Meridian is intended to look far enough ahead to anticipate the next technological transformation before the military falls behind.

The push reflects lessons learned from recent wars, particularly the extraordinary proliferation of inexpensive drones and autonomous systems. Conflicts in Ukraine and elsewhere have demonstrated how quickly relatively cheap unmanned aircraft can alter battlefield tactics and destroy equipment costing many times more.

Hegseth’s broader package includes six initiatives aimed at reshaping different aspects of the armed forces. Another program, called FORTRESS America, is intended to make American military installations and defense supply chains less vulnerable to foreign disruption.

Under that initiative, major U.S. military bases would eventually be capable of generating their own electricity independently of the civilian power grid, allowing installations to continue operating during a cyberattack, sabotage or other major disruption. The Pentagon also wants to strengthen domestic supplies of strategically important materials, including rare earth elements, semiconductors, specialty metals and propellants.

Hegseth also announced plans for a new major U.S. military installation, with states expected to compete to host the base, as well as an expanded military-college initiative and a new Office of Religious Affairs.

Wednesday’s address was the second annual State of the Force speech Hegseth has delivered at Quantico. Last year, he summoned generals, admirals and other senior commanders from around the world as he laid out major changes to military standards, personnel policies and what he calls the “warrior ethos.”

This year, Hegseth deliberately addressed younger leaders, including top-performing E-6 enlisted personnel and O-3 officers from across the services. He described them as the military’s “current and future leaders on the front lines.”

Hegseth also used the speech to reiterate his campaign to reverse diversity initiatives and other policies he says weakened military standards.

“We are no longer the woke department or the weak department,” Hegseth said. “No fatties, no trainees, no weirdos, no beardos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors.”

The War Secretary also launched a blistering attack on portions of the news media, accusing some journalists of allowing political agendas to influence coverage in ways that he said could jeopardize American military operations and personnel.

“It’s sick. It’s a national betrayal. It’s treason, actually,” Hegseth said.

For Musk, Project Meridian places him back inside a major Trump administration initiative — this time alongside one of America’s leading defense-technology entrepreneurs and a former speaker of the House, with just four months to produce a blueprint identifying the technologies that could shape American warfare for decades to come.

{Matzav.com}