Washington: The United States plans to deploy hundreds of thousands of one-way attack drones this year and expand their numbers into the millions in the coming years as the Pentagon prepares to establish a four-star-led command dedicated to autonomous warfare, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has said.
Speaking at the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting in Washington on Wednesday (local time), Hegseth said the military was moving to accelerate the production and deployment of unmanned systems, combining advances in artificial intelligence, robotics and commercial manufacturing.
The planned Autonomous Warfare Command, known as AutoWarCom, is intended to coordinate the development, acquisition, training and operational use of autonomous weapons across the armed services.
Hegseth said the new command would help overcome bureaucratic barriers that have slowed the adoption of inexpensive unmanned systems, even as drones have transformed modern battlefields.
“Ultimately we will be dealing with hundreds of thousands of one-way attack systems this year and into the millions in years to come at a pace that this department’s never ever seen before,” he told the gathering.
The Pentagon is seeking approximately $50 billion in additional funding to accelerate the development and production of autonomous and robotic systems.
The proposal is separate from the department’s fiscal 2027 budget request, which includes $53.6 billion for its broader Drone Dominance initiative and related capabilities.
The proposed expenditure remains subject to congressional action and does not represent money already approved or spent.
Hegseth said the military must move beyond traditional acquisition systems that often take years to develop and deploy weapons.
He argued that inexpensive autonomous systems could be manufactured and fielded at a scale previously unavailable to American military commanders.
The Pentagon announced plans for the Autonomous Warfare Command on September 30, with Project Agincourt serving as an interim initiative to prepare the organisation.
The department aims to establish the new command by October 1, 2027, subject to the necessary approvals and organisational arrangements.
Hegseth said the proposed command would be led by a four-star military officer with sufficient authority to coordinate the services and accelerate decisions.
“The services are not fighting us on this concept. They believe in it,” he said.
The initiative is expected to involve the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Space Force, along with the military’s geographic and functional combatant commands.
The Pentagon has already invested in efforts to expand the availability of small drones and other unmanned platforms.
Under its Drone Dominance programme, the Army previously outlined plans to acquire approximately 340,000 small unmanned aircraft systems over two years.
The department is also seeking to integrate autonomous systems into intelligence collection, battlefield surveillance, precision strikes and logistics operations.
Hegseth said military personnel must be able to experiment with new technologies, provide immediate operational feedback and adapt equipment without waiting for lengthy procurement cycles.
The approach is intended to bring engineers, manufacturers and military operators into closer cooperation.
Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle said the service was working to expand access to military testing facilities for technology developers and strengthen training in robotics and autonomous systems.
Other military leaders discussed efforts to develop autonomous aircraft, unmanned maritime systems and technologies capable of operating in contested environments.
The proposed command would also oversee changes in military doctrine and training, rather than functioning solely as a weapons procurement organisation.
The Pentagon’s push reflects the growing importance of drones in contemporary conflicts, where relatively inexpensive unmanned aircraft have been used for reconnaissance, targeting and precision attacks against conventional military forces.
The United States has been pursuing autonomous and artificial intelligence-enabled military technologies as part of a broader effort to modernise its armed forces. The proposed command represents an organisational change still under development, and its operational capabilities, funding and deployment targets will depend on subsequent decisions by Congress and the Pentagon.
(IANS)
