The U.S. Army is creating a new Autonomous Systems Command and appointing an acquisition manager to prioritize the purchase and fielding of intelligent machines, according to a memo first seen by Axios.
Why it’s important: The instructions to do so came from Acting Secretary of State Adam Telle and were issued a day after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed Projects Meridian and Agincourt, both focused on the robotic future of warfare.
- Hegseth “has been clear: we are done with the bureaucratic inertia that holds back modernization,” Telle told Axios.
Zoom: Thursday’s memo, titled “Army Autonomous Initiatives,” includes several directives:
- Establish the Future Army and Autonomous Systems Command, or FASCOM.
- Lead “autonomous force development to create a force structure aligning autonomous capabilities” in at least six military formations, including aviation, armor, sustainment and training.
- Designate an “autonomy portfolio acquisition lead” and focus this exercise on autonomous fires, combat vehicles, watercraft resupply, intruders, surveillance and targeting, and more.
- Expand authorizations for military occupational specialties 15X and 390A to “all applicable military units.” (The service in August described 15X, tactical unmanned aircraft systems specialist, as its new role.)
Zoom out: U.S. military leaders have advocated for manned and unmanned collaboration for years. The incredible success of drones in Eastern Europe – whether on the ground, in the air or on the water – has raised the stakes.
The bottom line: “The Army is moving quickly to maintain its lethal advantage,” Telle said. “This is combat readiness to destroy the enemy and ensure our military never enters into a fair fight.”
Go further: Behind the scenes of the motorized combat of the 82nd Airborne
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