Pentagon names Musk and Luckey to lead 120-day warfare study
Project Meridian will assess future battlefield needs and propose technologies for development, testing and deployment.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has launched Project Meridian, a 120-day study of how technology may shape future battlefields. Elon Musk, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will co-lead the effort under Defence Department chief technology officer Emil Michael.
The team is expected to include people from academia and policy. Hegseth said it would examine the weapons and technologies warfighters may use and propose actionable solutions to develop, test and field advanced capabilities. The source does not specify when the 120-day period begins.
The appointment puts executives with defence industry ties in a position to help shape the military’s technology priorities. Musk’s SpaceX launches government satellites and operates a network supporting national defence and security missions. Luckey’s Anduril makes autonomous systems and drones and has received government defence contracts.
Those business links could invite scrutiny if the study recommends technologies sold by companies connected to its co-leads. The source reports no established conflict-of-interest finding.
Hegseth also announced an Autonomous Warfare Command to accelerate development and deployment of autonomous systems and drones. The Pentagon has not identified the partner organisation through which Project Meridian will operate or disclosed the study’s full membership. It referred TechCrunch to a press release and said it had nothing further to provide beyond Hegseth’s comments.
