Hegseth uses AUSA spotlight to push autonomy, ‘generational’ defense investment

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and service leaders took center stage at the Association of the US Army’s annual conference this morning discussing broad plans to scale autonomous weapons and stand up a new four-star command. 

“You have autonomy. You have robotics. You have SI [super intelligence]. You have space,” Hegseth told an audience full of servicemembers and industry figures. “It’s that the folks who acquire it [defense platforms] need to be right there, up with the warfighter at the same time, who understand how to iterate it and change on and innovate on it.”

While Hegseth and service civilian leader steered clear of many specifics about autonomy development and investment plans today, they used the event to discuss the need to stand up the recently announced Autonomous Warfare Command, or AUTOWARCOM, that is envisioned as having service-like authorities to scale autonomous and robotic capabilities across the joint force.

While Congress will have to sign off on the plan — a move that could take time— the Defense Department is moving out with several efforts to pave that path forward. For instance, the Pentagon has shifted the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager (DRPM) for autonomy into an umbrella unmanned tech initiative called Project Agincourt.

Owen West, who is now leading that project, moderated today’s AUSA autonomy panel that provided some insight into management changes, including to the Defense Autonomous Working Group (DAWG).

DAWG was established as follow-on to the Biden-era Replicator initiative to dramatically increase the production of drones and counter-drone tech. In 2025 DAWG was placed under Special Operations Command (SOCOM) with the goal of focusing on different capability portfolios. 

“We’re smaller. We’re able to iterate at the speed of relevancy,” said Derrick Anderson, the assistant secretary of defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict.

Anderson said now DAWG is being absorbed by a new Task Force Autonomous Warfare inside SOCOM to support Project Agincourt and, eventually, AUTOWARCOM, to “keep iterating” inside the autonomy space and so that there isn’t a “stagnant pause.”

“Our guys are going to keep pushing forward,” Anderson added.

While lawmakers have not yet approved a fiscal 2027 defense spending bill or moved ahead with the administration’s separate reconciliation request, the Pentagon has laid out plans to spend nearly $55 billion on DAWG. 

It remains unclear how much of that request will ultimately be approved by Congress, but Hegseth reiterated this morning that the full request is necessary to “drive change” inside the department. 

“[It is] a one-time generational investment gives us a chance to reflect the president’s priorities,” Hegseth said on stage.

“Investments now are going to matter, and they’re going to ripple not just for years but for decades across our joint force,” he later added.