Hegseth Unveils Autonomous Warfare Command and Deeper Cuts to Generals

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced a new command for autonomous and robotic warfare and a deeper cut in the number of senior officers, in a speech to about 600 junior leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.

The address on Wednesday, which Hegseth called a "State of the Force" speech and intends to make an annual event, came exactly a year after he spoke to hundreds of generals and admirals at the same base, according to Stars and Stripes.

"I'm proud to stand on this stage and report that the warrior ethos has been revived, our military is being rebuilt and American deterrence is back," Hegseth said.

Six new initiatives

The centrepiece was a new four-star command. "Today at my direction, we are announcing the creation of Autonomous Warfare Command — or AutoWarCom — a four-star combatant command with service-like authorities built to scale autonomous and robotic capabilities," Hegseth said, as reported by Stars and Stripes.

"The autonomous and robotic revolution has enormous implications for equipment, doctrine, organization, and the assumptions that have governed warfare for decades," he said, according to CNN. He cited lessons from the war in Ukraine. A Pentagon memo said the command is meant to be established by October 2027, which will require the department to work with Congress on legislation, Stars and Stripes reported.

A second initiative, Project Meridian, will bring in private-sector innovators to speed the fielding of advanced systems. It will be led by Emil Michael, the under secretary of defense for research and engineering, and co-directed by Elon Musk, Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, according to Stars and Stripes. Its findings are due within 120 days.

The other plans include a programme to give every major US military installation its own independent power supply, a contest among states to host a new base, and a new Corps of Cadets programme at five universities: Louisiana State, Liberty, Tuskegee, Mississippi State and Hillsdale College.

The sixth is an Office of Religious Affairs that will report directly to the secretary. "This is not going to be a paper-pushing shop. It's going to have real teeth," Hegseth said.

Cuts to generals and admirals

Hegseth said he had doubled his target for cutting general and flag officer positions to 20%, up from the 10% reduction he ordered in May 2025, CNN reported.

"The media calls that a purge. I call it accountability, and long overdue, and frankly, the bare minimum," he said, according to Stars and Stripes.

He has removed more than two dozen senior officers, many with little or no explanation, which has drawn criticism from lawmakers in both parties, CNN reported.

Culture, the media and criticism

Much of the speech returned to themes from last year's address. "We are no longer the woke department or the weak department," Hegseth said. CNN reported that he used a slur to refer to transgender service members as he described his efforts to reshape the force. "The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in, with testosterone testing on top," he said, according to NPR.

Hegseth also criticised coverage of the war with Iran. "A free press is, of course, important, but partisan activism that intentionally smears the troops and the historic mission that they're undertaking is fundamentally anti-American. It's sick. It's a national betrayal. It's treason, actually," he said, NPR reported.

He defended his record, saying recruitment and retention had risen, including among women and minorities, and described the force as colour-blind and merit-based, according to NPR.

Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticised the secretary. "Throughout his tenure, Secretary Hegseth has taken countless reckless, partisan actions that have damaged our military. He has ended the careers of dozens of our most accomplished senior officers and refused to explain why. Today's news should alarm every American," Reed said in a statement reported by NPR.

The religious affairs office also drew objections. Rachel Laser, president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which has sued the Pentagon over its monthly worship services, said the announcement violated the Constitution's promise of religious freedom by "elevating Christianity to an even higher role in shaping U.S. military policy", according to Stars and Stripes. Hegseth told the audience that 95% of the force "recognizes an Almighty God", citing internal data, CNN reported.

CNN said the young officers and non-commissioned officers in the audience largely sat in silence during the speech.