Pentagon creates 'Autowarcom' to expand AI and drone capabilities

WASHINGTON — US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday announced the creation of a new military command that would be dedicated to building and providing autonomous and robotic capabilities across the US military. The command, which Hegseth said would be called "Autonomous Warfare Command," highlights the rapidly changing nature of warfare and the need to make progress on systems like drones and the use of artificial intelligence. Creating a new command is not common — the last one was US Space Command in 2019 — and the move reflects the Pentagon's push to shift from costly conventional weapons platforms to cheaper, AI-driven autonomous systems that have proved decisive in recent conflicts. Speaking in front of hundreds of junior officers and enlisted personnel at Quantico, Virginia, in a speech peppered with attacks on the media, Hegseth said the command would be led by a four-star officer. "The pace of war is changing faster than the process to support it," Hegseth said in a speech called the "State of the Force," in which he announced other changes, including the creation o