Secretary of War Pete Hegseth heaped praise on the ‘reasonable’ Iranian state-run media while slamming the US press in an announcement unveiling a new ‘autonomous’ Pentagon unit.
‘Our so-called press makes Iranian state media look reasonable,’ Hegseth began his blistering critique of the US media during his State of the Force address to senior military leaders in Quantico, Virginia, on Wednesday.
The former Fox News host, who is now running the War Department, used the speech to escalate his long-standing war of words against US journalists, whom he barred from the Pentagon‘s press office earlier this summer as the Iran war raged.
He accused major outlets of bashing Trump for ‘political retribution,’ said members of the press suffer from ‘Trump derangement syndrome,’ and that American journalists have committed a ‘national betrayal’ for their coverage of the unpopular conflict.
‘Partisan activism that intentionally smears the troops and the historic mission they’re undertaking is fundamentally anti-American. It’s sick. It’s a national betrayal.’
In addition to bashing the press and praising the Iranian media, Hegseth also announced the establishment of a new ‘autonomous’ military unit.
The Autonomous Warfare Command, also dubbed ‘AutoWarCom,’ will be responsible for purchasing, testing and overseeing the deployment of new drones and robotics meant for US warfighters.
The new command is scheduled to be up and running by October 2027, Hegseth shared.
‘Our so-called press makes Iranian state media look reasonable,’ Hegseth began his blistering critique of the US media during his State of the Force address to senior military leaders in Quantico, Virginia, on Wednesday
In addition to bashing the press and praising the Iranian media, Hegseth also announced the establishment of a new ‘autonomous’ military command focused on drone warfare
The US is seeking to develop cheap, quickly manufactured autonomous capabilities that it can field across the globe. Ukraine’s successful drone industry has reportedly inspired Pentagon planners to focus on AI-enabled battle tactics
Owen West, a DoW official and former Marine, and Max Strasiser, a Navy SEAL test pilot, will temporarily lead the new initiative until a four-star military officer is selected to head up the command.
Having a four-star at the top of the structure would put AutoWarCom on the same standing as others, like Central Command, which oversees the Middle East and AFRICOM, which manages Africa.
The main priority for the unit is to quickly create a pipeline of cheap, autonomous military systems that can help secure the US an edge in battles across the globe.
The secretary also announced that SpaceX boss Elon Musk, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey, and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich will work on ‘Project Meridian,’ an initiative to study the future of warfare and the technologies that will power it.
A report from the three on the future of war is expected to be submitted within 120 days.
Drone and autonomous weaponry has become a hallmark of wars fought this decade.
Ukrainian drones have been instrumental in repelling the years-long Russian invasion, giving the smaller country flexibility because they are cheap and easy to make.
Iran has fired thousands of homemade drones at the US and Israel amid the ongoing war, with some strikes causing devastating effects.
Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones are positioned on the tarmac at a base in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) operating area. The LUCAS platforms are part of a one-way attack drone squadron CENTCOM recently deployed to the Middle East to strengthen regional security and deterrence
SpaceX founder Elon Musk will help the Department of War study the future of warfare. He is expected to co-author a report within the next 120 days informing the Pentagon of his findings
Hegseth addressed a room full of senior-level officers from across the military branches
Taking note, the Pentagon’s latest budget request includes three times the funding it previously sought for drone and counterdrone capabilities.
In its latest approximately $1.5 trillion budget request, the Pentagon asked $74 billion for drones alone, meaning roughly five percent of the total budget is earmarked for the AI-enabled weaponry.
Trump has warmed to AI and hosted many industry executives at the White House this week to sign a ‘constitution’ regarding the future of the technology.
Renaming AI to ‘SI,’ or super intelligence, the president signed an executive order to rename the booming tech across the government on Tuesday.
‘Drone warfare supercharged by SI-enabled targeting is the biggest battlefield revolution in generations,’ Hegseth said Wednesday.
