WASHINGTON — Bring in the sci-fi and history nerds.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth touted a new initiative, Project Meridian, in which tech bros Elon Musk and Palmer Luckey, as well as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, will co-direct a panel studying the future of warfare.
They will identify future technologies that are expected to become pivotal on the battlefield so that America can stay ahead of the competition and then release an unclassified report on their findings for the world to see, alongside a classified annex.
“As we scan that horizon of an unknown future, we should have the humility to recognize that the best forecasters of future conflict do not solely reside inside the Pentagon,” Hegseth explained during his “State of the Force” address.
“Its purpose is to creatively look to the future and identify the domains that we must conquer and capabilities we must master,” the secretary of war stressed. “We should have been thinking about Autonomous Warfare Command ten years ago. We need to be looking forward into the future.”
“It is futuristic on purpose.”
Project Meridian was one of six major initiatives Hegseth unveiled during his address to military personnel at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia Wednesday.
Another new initiative he rolled out was the establishment of Autonomous Warfare Command, which will oversee the rapid scaling of autonomous technologies across the joint force.
Notably, Musk’s SpaceX and Luckey’s Anduril have contracts with the Pentagon.
The first meeting of the Project Meridian crew took place nearby in a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) on Wednesday, according to Hegseth.
Hegseth acknowledged that senior leadership within the military is constantly making assessments about the future of warfare, but argued that it will be beneficial to get help from the private sector.
During his fiery address, Hegseth also laced into the media.
“Our so-called press makes Iranian state media look reasonable,” he chided, branding reporters as “anti-American.” “Our media is shameful. Lust for political retribution blinds them to the consequences of reckless so-called reporting. So-called journalists juiced up on Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
“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,” Hegseth later added.
“It’s sick. It’s a national betrayal. It’s treason, actually.”
