Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth named Elon Musk as co-leader of Project Meridian, a Pentagon initiative to study the future of warfare.
The project is set to run for 120 days and will create a public report of its recommendations, which Hegseth is expected to receive by late January 2027.
Project Meridian will look ahead into how warfare could change and what capabilities the U.S. military will need to maintain a technological advantage.
They will “study the battlefields of the future” and “identify which weapons and technologies warfighters will need to harness to dominate in these environments,” Hegseth said.
The Defense Department described its goal as “identifying the capabilities required to achieve absolute technological dominance on the next-generation battlefield.”
The project will also consider how new technology can be used when fighting in “untested terrains including subterranean depths and on the moon,” according to The Guardian.
Musk will co-lead alongside Palmer Luckey, co-founder of the defense technology company Anduril, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Chief Technology Officer for the Department of War Emil Michael will oversee the project.
The role places Musk and Luckey in positions to help determine the military’s future technology needs as their own companies compete for billions in the Department of Defense’s businesses, according to CNBC.
SpaceX was awarded a $4.16 billion Space Force contract in May to build satellites that track airborne threats. The Marine Corps also awarded Anduril a $642 million contract in 2025 to install counter-drone systems.
This is Musk’s first appointment back in government since he led the Department of Government Efficiency. His oversight of the department caused “a feud with President Donald Trump over Trump’s spending bill,” according to The Washington Post.
However, none of Project Meridian’s co-leads have served in the U.S. military, according to CNBC.
Gingrich was appointed to the Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board in December 2020 but was removed in February 2021 after Joe Biden was inaugurated as president.
The announcement is also part of the Pentagon’s broader plans for autonomous warfare, including a four-star Autonomous Warfare Command designed to scale robotic systems across the military.
