Pete Hegseth Announces Autonomous Warfare Command Amid Protests

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the creation of the Autonomous Warfare Command (AutoWarCom) during a panel at the Association of the United States Army annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. Scheduled for activation by October 1, 2027, pending congressional authorization, the four-star combatant command will oversee the development, deployment, and doctrine of robotic and autonomous capabilities for overseas operations.

Hegseth defended the move as a way to integrate autonomous systems across military services and move beyond isolated drone programs. He highlighted Project Agincourt, a Pentagon initiative designed to accelerate the deployment of unmanned systems by uniting engineers, acquisition officials, and operators. In coordination with this effort, Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle directed the establishment of the U.S. Army Futures and Autonomous Systems Command (FASCOM), a three-star component command that will operate under AutoWarCom.

The session was repeatedly interrupted by five or six protesters who shouted that Hegseth was a "war criminal" and a "Nazi." The demonstrators protested the ongoing war with Iran, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and President Donald Trump's proposed $1.5 trillion military budget. Security personnel forcibly removed the activists, while Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson dismissed the disruptions as "performative, left-wing activists."