'For 21st century & beyond': US launches 'Project Meridian' to prepare for future wars

‘Project Meridian’ looks to define America’s battles of tomorrow

The Pentagon will launch "Project Meridian", a new initiative aimed at shaping the future of warfare, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth announced Thursday.SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Anduril Industries founder Palmer Luckey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will lead the project, which will study future battlefields and identify the weapons and capabilities the US military will need.Hegseth unveiled the initiative during his second address at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. He said the project would not produce new policy documents but would focus on identifying “the domains we must conquer, and capabilities we must master.”“We are leveraging a unique source of American advantage, one our adversaries do not have: our innovators, our senior leaders and our technologists — big thinkers and doers who will forecast the creative solution for tomorrow's conflicts,” Hegseth said.The project will focus on “discovering, developing and fielding the weapons and systems that our children and our grandchildren will need in their lifetimes.”What will Project Meridian study?The Pentagon memorandum said Project Meridian will study rapid advances in artificial intelligence, autonomy, directed energy, robotics and biotechnology, which it said would “profoundly alter the character of warfare.”

The project will also map the trajectory of future warfare, identify critical capability gaps and propose actionable solutions. It will draw on technologists, innovators, business leaders, policymakers and national security experts outside the Pentagon."The Future of Warfare, through a partner organization. Project Meridian will study the battlefields of the future, identify which weapons and technologies warfighters will need to harness to dominate in these environments, and propose actionable solutions to start developing, testing and fielding these capabilities such that America will have overmatch for the 21 st century and beyond," the memorandum said.The project will examine future battlefields and identify the weapons, technologies and capabilities that the US military will need to maintain its technological advantage.Who will facilitate the project?Pentagon technology chief Emil Michael will help facilitate Project Meridian. Hegseth said its leadership was expected to hold its first meeting on Wednesday.The memorandum directs the Department of War's Chief Technology Officer, Emil Michael, to commission Project Meridian through a partner organisation.

It also calls for the Joint Staff and military services to connect their future warfare efforts and research to the project.Luckey said the project would bring together technology and national security experts to examine both current and future conflicts.“Americans have always been at our best when we bring our smartest scientists, engineers and technologists together to solve the hardest problems in national security,” Luckey told Axios.“Together, we will not only study the wars being fought today but also think seriously about the wars we cannot afford to fight in 2030, 2050, and 2100 — and what America needs to build now to prevent them.”Musk's SpaceX and Luckey's Anduril have major Pentagon contracts. SpaceX serves as America's national-security launch backbone, while Anduril provides jammers, interceptors, rocket motors and robo-wingmen.Hegseth said the project's final findings and recommendations will be submitted to his office within 120 days of its announcement, with January 28, 2027, set as the deadline.A public rollout is planned alongside a classified report.