Aerospace & Defense10 October 2026

Pentagon: a four-star command for autonomous warfare, and 20% fewer generals

In his “State of the Force” address, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new four-star combatant command dedicated to autonomy and drones, alongside a fresh 20% cut to general and flag officer billets. The two announcements are two sides of the same decision: who, inside the Pentagon, gets to decide on military AI.

In his annual “State of the Force” address (late September), Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled plans for a new Autonomous Warfare Command: a four-star combatant command with “service-like authorities,” tasked with driving the design, development and fielding of autonomous and semi-autonomous systems — drones, artificial intelligence, and command-and-control systems. The stated goal is to launch the structure within a year, with full standup targeted for October 1, 2027. The Senate has already cleared the provision in committee as part of the fiscal year 2027 defense policy bill (NDAA FY2027); the House still has to vote.

In the same speech, Hegseth announced a further 20% cut to general and flag officer billets, on top of a 10% cut last year under his “fewer generals, more GIs” policy. For scale: the Congressional Research Service counted roughly 850 general and flag officer positions in 2023 (generals and admirals make up less than 1% of total military personnel); the Air Force has roughly 250, the Space Force roughly 30.

Pending the new command's standup, an interim effort called “Project Agincourt” is meant to pair operators with entrepreneurial companies in rapid adaptation cycles, building on existing structures (the Defense Innovation Unit, the Drone Dominance program) and pushing decision-making — and funding — closer to frontline units. Each service is also to phase in new military occupational specialties dedicated to autonomy.

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