The U.S. Department of Defense is creating a new military command focused on autonomous weapons, drones, robotics and artificial intelligence as the Pentagon looks to expand the use of these technologies across the armed forces.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the Autonomous Warfare Command, known as Autowarcom, during his State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on September 30.
The new command is expected to have four-star leadership and service-like authority to accelerate the development and deployment of autonomous and robotic systems across the U.S. military. It is planned to become operational by October 1, 2027.
The move represents one of the Pentagon’s most significant organizational changes focused specifically on autonomous military technology. The last new U.S. combatant command was Space Command, established in 2019.
Pentagon’s Autowarcom Will Focus on Drones, Robotics and AI
Autowarcom will be a new four-star combatant command responsible for helping the U.S. military develop and scale autonomous and robotic capabilities.
According to Hegseth, the command will have “service-like authorities” and will focus on bringing autonomous systems into military operations more quickly. Its work is expected to cover drones, robotics, artificial intelligence and command-and-control systems.
The Pentagon’s decision comes as military planners increasingly focus on systems that can operate with less direct human control and can be produced in larger numbers. Rather than relying only on expensive traditional platforms, the Pentagon wants to increase its ability to deploy smaller and potentially lower-cost autonomous systems at scale.
Hegseth said the pace at which warfare is changing is faster than the existing process for developing and deploying military capabilities. The new command is intended to help close that gap.
Pentagon Puts Drones and AI at the Center of Military Strategy
Drones are at the center of the Pentagon’s push toward autonomous warfare. The war in Ukraine has demonstrated how unmanned systems can be used for surveillance, targeting, attacks and battlefield coordination. The widespread use of drones has also encouraged militaries to look for systems that can be produced quickly and deployed in large numbers.
Reuters reported that the Pentagon’s new approach reflects a move toward less expensive autonomous systems as military forces study the role drones have played in recent conflicts.
Artificial intelligence is another important part of the strategy. AI systems can assist with processing large amounts of battlefield information, identifying potential targets, coordinating unmanned systems and supporting command decisions.
The exact capabilities that will ultimately be deployed through Autowarcom have not yet been fully detailed. The Pentagon is still establishing the command and determining its organizational structure.
ALSO READ: Anthropic Blocks Five Cases of AI Misuse Linked to Biological Weapons
U.S. Defense Department Pushes Faster Adoption of Autonomous Systems
The creation of Autowarcom is also tied to a broader effort to change how the Pentagon develops and purchases emerging military technology. Hegseth has directed the Pentagon to move more quickly from technology development to deployment.
A related effort will test a new approach to military acquisition that brings operators and technology companies together in shorter development cycles. The Defense Department’s existing work on autonomous systems will help support the transition to the new command.
Earlier in 2026, U.S. Southern Command also established its own Autonomous Warfare Command to integrate autonomous, semi-autonomous and unmanned systems into missions across its region. That initiative includes work involving unmanned platforms, AI integration and human-machine teaming.
The Pentagon’s new military-wide command would take this type of capability to a much broader level.
Why Autonomous Weapons Are Becoming a Pentagon Priority
The push comes as military forces around the world invest heavily in drones, robotics and AI. Modern conflicts have shown that relatively inexpensive unmanned systems can be used alongside traditional aircraft, ships, armored vehicles and missile systems.
They can also be deployed in situations where sending a human operator directly into danger may be difficult. For the United States, the challenge is developing systems that can operate across different environments while remaining reliable and controllable.
The Pentagon is therefore looking at both high-end military platforms and large numbers of smaller autonomous systems. Hegseth has described this as the need for both sophisticated capabilities and systems that can be produced and deployed at scale.
Four-Star Officer Will Lead the Pentagon’s New Autowarcom
The new command will be led by a four-star officer, giving it a senior position within the U.S. military structure. Hegseth said Autowarcom will have authorities similar to those of a military service, allowing it to coordinate and scale autonomous and robotic capabilities across the armed forces.
Defense One reported that the command is scheduled to stand up by October 1, 2027, although building the organization and integrating it into the wider military will take time.
The command’s creation does not mean that autonomous weapons will immediately replace conventional military systems. Instead, it gives the Pentagon a dedicated organization for developing and deploying these technologies.
AI Warfare Raises Questions About Human Control and Accountability
The expansion of autonomous military technology also raises questions about how much decision-making should be delegated to machines. AI systems can process information much faster than humans, but they can also make mistakes when operating with incomplete or inaccurate data.
Military use of autonomous systems therefore involves questions about human oversight, accountability and the circumstances in which a machine can act without direct intervention. Experts have also warned that rapid development of military AI could increase competition between major powers and create pressure for countries to deploy increasingly autonomous systems.
These concerns are particularly important as the United States and China compete to develop advanced AI and military technologies. The Pentagon has not said that Autowarcom will remove humans from critical military decisions.
Its stated purpose is to expand autonomous and robotic capabilities across the military while improving the speed at which those systems are developed and deployed.
ALSO READ: OpenAI and Anthropic Warn UN Security Council of Growing AI Risks
Pentagon Prepares Autowarcom for 2027 Launch
The Pentagon now has to establish the command’s leadership, personnel and operational structure before it becomes fully active.
The planned October 2027 launch gives the Defense Department roughly a year to build the new organization and determine how it will work with the military services and existing combatant commands.
The Pentagon is also expected to continue testing new drones, robotic platforms, AI systems and command technologies as part of the wider effort.
Autowarcom could eventually become a central organization for coordinating these capabilities across the U.S. military. Its development will also provide an indication of how quickly the Pentagon intends to move autonomous systems from experimental projects into regular military operations.
