The Pentagon will spend the next 120 days working out how wars will be fought, and the people it has asked to lead that effort run companies selling the tools likely to be recommended.
WHAT WAS ANNOUNCED. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used a "State of the Force" address on Wednesday to launch Project Meridian, a study of "the battlefields of the future" and the "weapons and technologies warfighters" may use on them. Elon Musk, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will co-lead it, joined by figures from academia and policy, all working under Defense Department CTO Emil Michael. Hegseth's letter gives the team 120 days to submit findings and propose "actionable solutions to start developing, testing, and fielding" advanced technology to keep America a dominant military power.
Also announced the same day: an Autonomous Warfare Command, intended to speed up the development and deployment of autonomous systems and drones.
THE CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST QUESTION. Musk's SpaceX launches satellites for the U.S. government and operates a satellite network that supports national defense and security missions; Luckey's Anduril builds autonomous military systems and drones and has recently won contracts to produce long-range missiles, semi-autonomous fighter aircraft, and hardware and integration for the Army's mobile intelligence system. Putting those two on a panel scoping the future of warfare technology aligns with their business interests, since the study's recommendations could land on products they already sell.
LOOSE ENDS. The Pentagon announcement says the study will come through a partner organization, but does not name that organization or say who leads it, and it is unclear how many people will sit on the panel. After TechCrunch asked for comment, the department referred it to the press release and said it had "nothing further to provide beyond the Secretary's comments."
For Musk, the appointment reads as a formal return to the administration's orbit after he left the Department of Government Efficiency last year; he has reportedly renewed close ties and recently met the president alongside other top AI leaders. The Trump administration has made advanced military technology a priority in both development and purchasing, and has looked to Silicon Valley-adjacent companies to deliver it — which is precisely why the vendor question is being asked before the study has even started.
