The U.S. Department of Defense is pushing to establish a four-star-level Autonomous Warfare Command dedicated to the procurement, testing, and deployment of drones, robots, and artificial intelligence (AI)-based unmanned systems, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on September 30 (local time).

The new command aims to be operational by October 2027 and will play a role in drastically transforming how the U.S. military secures unmanned systems.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a U.S. Marine Corps base in Virginia that "the Autonomous Warfare Command will drive the fastest peacetime transition in modern military history to field new drone and robotic equipment."

The initial setup work for the Autonomous Warfare Command will be led by Owen West, a former Marine and former assistant secretary of defense, and Max Strasser, a test pilot and former U.S. Navy SEAL.

Once officially launched, the new organization is expected to become an independent military command with a status similar to the U.S. Cyber Command and U.S. Space Command.

To achieve this, the Department of Defense is launching "Project Agincourt."

This project focuses on accelerating the testing, procurement, and combat deployment of unmanned systems such as drones and robots.

The Pentagon has proposed a budget allocating 74 billion dollars (approx. 100.5 trillion won) for drones and counter-drone technology, and plans to triple spending related to autonomous warfare.

The Battle of Agincourt was a 1415 battle during the Hundred Years' War where the English army used longbows to defeat a numerically superior French force, and Secretary Hegseth used it as a metaphor that new technologies like drones and AI can overturn numerical disadvantages.

The core objective is to cut down traditional long-term weapons development and procurement procedures, rapidly fielding commercial technologies from private companies.

In this process, the Pentagon plans to expand the "gauntlet" approach, which pits equipment from multiple companies against each other in conditions close to actual operational environments.

The plan is to order products whose performance has been proven within weeks of announcing the results and to make the evaluation rankings public.

During tests recently held in Colorado, quadcopter drones performed missions such as vehicle attacks, tunnel navigation, indoor building flight, and target detection.

Participating drones had to meet the criteria of costing less than 4,000 dollars (approx. 5.43 million won), being produced in the United States, and using U.S.-made parts.

The Pentagon stated that through this program, thousands of robotic systems have already been distributed to units, with some deployed to support operations in the Middle East.

West told the WSJ that they plan to test a wider variety of unmanned systems, such as bombing drones and uncrewed surface vessels, using the same method, adding, "In the past, operational units had almost no flexibility to purchase the equipment they wanted in large quantities and quickly."

The Department of Defense is also separately studying the long-term changes of future warfare.

Secretary Hegseth announced "Project Meridian," which involves entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk and Palmer Luckey, as well as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Pentagon Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Emil Michael will review future battlefield changes with them, and the research results are scheduled to be submitted within 120 days.

Additionally, a new organization called "Fortress America" will be established to strengthen the defense of U.S. military bases.

This organization will pursue measures to ensure that military bases can maintain operations using their own power even if civilian power grids are paralyzed by cyberattacks or sabotage.

Key tasks include energy self-sufficiency for military bases, supply chain reinforcement, and improved defense capabilities against drone and cyber attacks.

This organizational restructuring follows drones emerging as a core asset in modern warfare—serving as expendable equipment while also being widely used for battlefield surveillance, reconnaissance, attack, supply, and electronic warfare.

In particular, the war in Ukraine demonstrated that the ability to mass-produce and improve relatively inexpensive drones and quickly adapt operational methods to battlefield conditions is crucial.

The Pentagon believes it is difficult to cope with such a rapidly changing technological environment using only traditional weapons procurement systems.

This is because while traditional weapons systems can take years from development to testing, contracting, production, and deployment, drone technology can see its performance and countermeasures change in a short period.

The creation of the Autonomous Warfare Command is interpreted as an attempt by the United States to secure low-cost unmanned systems in large quantities and maintain technological superiority by combining them with AI.

There is also internal opposition.

According to the WSJ, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff raised concerns earlier this year that establishing a unified combat command dedicated to drones could conflict with the testing and procurement authorities of the existing Army, Navy, and Air Force, causing confusion in the command and authority structure.

Secretary Hegseth stated that President Donald Trump supports the plan and maintained his stance to push forward with unmanned-centric military innovation even at the risk of resistance from the existing system.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)