Musk, Luckey, Gingrich to Lead Project Meridian: Mapping America's Future Wars
Elon Musk (read this guide) (discover more), Palmer Luckey, and Newt Gingrich have been tasked with co-directing Project Meridian, a Pentagon study aimed at identifying the technology required for the US military to fight future wars. Commissioned by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on September 30, 2026, the project has a deadline of January 28, 2027 (120 days after its announcement).
Key Findings and Domains
According to Hegseth’s commissioning memo, Project Meridian will cover every future warfighting domain: from subterranean depths to the cislunar frontier. The project aims to uncover:
- Artificial intelligence
- Autonomy
- Directed energy
- Robotics
- Biotechnology
Implementation and Support
Pentagon CTO Emil Michael will oversee the project through a partner organization. A team of academic, policy, and industry experts will support the three co-directors, who bring significant experience: Musk is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX; Luckey co-founded defence technology company Anduril; and Gingrich served as a former Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
Additional Initiatives
Hegseth also unveiled five other initiatives, including:
- Autonomous Warfare Command: A four-star functional combatant command set to launch by October 1, 2027, tasked with scaling autonomous warfare across all branches of the US armed forces.
- FORTRESS America: Aiming to bring military supply chains home and enhance energy independence, focusing on rare earths, specialty metals, semiconductors, propellants, satellites, spectrum protection, and base resilience against cyberattacks and sabotage.