Pentagon appoints Elon Musk and Palmer Luckey to lead Project Meridian future warfare study

Launch of Project Meridian

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey, and Newt Gingrich will co-direct a 120-day Pentagon study titled Project Meridian. Hegseth unveiled the initiative during his State of the Force address to junior officers and non-commissioned officers at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. The project tasks the three co-directors with examining future warfighting capabilities from subterranean environments to cislunar space between Earth and the Moon. Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX and Tesla, returns to a formal government advisory role roughly one year after leading the Department of Government Efficiency. Luckey is the co-founder of defense contractor Anduril, while Gingrich is a former Speaker of the US House of Representatives who was appointed to the Defense Policy Board in December 2020.

Technological scope and leadership

Project Meridian concentrates on evaluating emerging capabilities rather than drafting strategic or administrative policy documents. In an official commissioning memo, Hegseth outlined priority domains that include robotics, directed energy systems, autonomous platforms, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology.

We are witnessing rapid advances in artificial intelligence, autonomy, directed energy, robotics, biotechnology, among other critical high-tech areas. Combined, these new domains, new ways of fighting, and technological developments will profoundly alter the character of warfare.

Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael will facilitate the project through an unnamed partner organization, supported by a panel of academic, policy, and industry specialists. Michael previously stated in December that the defense industrial base needed more companies operating like Anduril, Palantir, and SpaceX. Hegseth directed the Joint Staff and every military service branch to connect their existing future-warfare research to Meridian's work.

Broader Pentagon reforms

Meridian is one of six defense initiatives Hegseth presented during his speech at Quantico. The Pentagon plans to establish an Autonomous Warfare Command as a four-star functional combatant command by 1 October 2027 to expand unmanned systems throughout the armed forces. That command builds on the Drone Dominance program, which deployed thousands of robotic systems to the Middle East for Operation Epic Fury. Hegseth also announced plans to streamline the military structure by reducing the number of top-ranking officer billets by 20%, double the reduction previously planned.

Project Meridian, the future of warfare, is not about developing new strategies or new policies.

Reporting schedule and contractor ties

The Meridian leadership team held its first working meeting on Wednesday, with final recommendations due in 120 days on 28 January 2027. The Pentagon will deliver an unclassified public report detailing its recommendations alongside a classified annex. Both Musk and Luckey manage commercial firms holding active defense contracts. SpaceX serves as the launch backbone for national security missions, while Anduril produces rocket motors, interceptors, electronic jammers, and robo-wingmen. The project team will focus on identifying, testing, and fielding equipment required for future operational environments.