Hegseth unveils drone command, deeper officer cuts in 'State of the Force' speech
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new Pentagon command for autonomous and robotic weapons, doubled his target for cutting senior military officers to 20%, and unveiled plans for a new base
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a series of major initiatives Wednesday in his "State of the Force" address at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. The initiatives include a new Autonomous Warfare Command focused on AI robotics and drone weapons, which will be led by a four-star general.
"The autonomous and robotic revolution has enormous implications for equipment, doctrine, organization, and the assumptions that have governed warfare for decades," Hegseth said. "Lasting change must be anchored in military command structures." The command, which Hegseth said will represent "the fastest peacetime shift in modern military history," will grow out of a complementary effort called Project Agincourt and aims to go online in October 2027.
Hegseth also announced he had doubled his target for cutting senior officer ranks to 20%, up from the 10% reduction he ordered in a May 2025 memo, calling it "accountability and long overdue." The defense secretary has fired more than two dozen senior officers during his tenure, drawing criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey attended the speech and were announced as chairs of a new future-of-warfare study group called Project Meridian. Hegseth also detailed plans to modernize US bases with independent power grids, strengthen defense supply chains, build reserves of fuel and medicine, and ask governors to submit proposals for a new mid-sized base to house up to 25,000 troops.
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The speech echoed Hegseth's September 2025 Quantico address to senior officers, in which he railed against "the woke department." On Wednesday, he again used a slur describing transgender service members, saying, "We are no longer the woke department or the weak department... No fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals, just warriors."
He also compared media coverage of military operations to "treason," while acknowledging a free press is "important." This year's roughly 600 attendees were largely junior officers and noncommissioned officers, who listened largely in silence throughout the speech.
Hegseth leaned into Christian religious messaging, quoting Bible verses and announcing reforms to elevate the military chaplaincy, citing Pentagon data claiming 95% of the military "recognizes an Almighty God." He also announced the "America's Corps of Cadets" initiative, naming Hillsdale College, Liberty University, Louisiana State University, Mississippi State University, and Tuskegee University as new "Distinguished Military Colleges" to receive Pentagon resources for officer training.