Pentagon taps Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey and Newt Gingrich to co-lead Project Meridian

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the Pentagon is tapping Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, defense technology entrepreneur and Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to identify the military capabilities, technologies and weapons the U.S. may need in future wars. He announced the initiative, called Project Meridian, in a "State of the Force" address to junior officers and enlisted leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.

Project Meridian will spend 120 days looking years and decades ahead at how warfare could change and what capabilities the U.S. military will need to maintain a technological edge. Hegseth said it is "not about developing new strategies or new policies." Its purpose, he said, is to "identify the domains that we must conquer, and capabilities we must master." He said the effort will focus on "discovering, developing, and fielding" weapons and systems that future U.S. troops may need on battlefields ranging "from under the Earth to beyond the moon."

Pentagon technology chief Emil Michael will oversee the project. Musk, Luckey and Gingrich will serve as co-leads, backed by a broader team drawn from government, industry, academia and the policy world, Hegseth said.

CNBC notes that none of the three co-leads has served in the U.S. military, and that Musk moved to Canada as a teenager in part, he has said, to avoid compulsory military service in South Africa. It also points out that the role puts Musk and Luckey in prime position to help identify the military's future technology needs while their companies compete for billions in Defense Department business.

SpaceX already holds a plethora of Pentagon contracts. In May, the Space Force awarded it a $4.16 billion contract to build satellites designed to track and target airborne threats, just days after awarding it another $2.29 billion contract for a military satellite communications network. Anduril develops autonomous weapons and other military technology; the Marine Corps awarded it a contract worth up to $642 million in 2025 for counter-drone systems.

The announcement was part of a broader Pentagon push into autonomous warfare. On the same Wednesday the Pentagon also announced plans for a new four-star Autonomous Warfare Command, aimed at scaling autonomous and robotic systems across the military. Anduril, SpaceX, Tesla and Gingrich did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Key facts

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth named Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey and Newt Gingrich as co-leads of Project Meridian, announced at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.
The initiative runs 120 days and looks years and decades ahead at the capabilities, technologies and weapons the U.S. may need in future wars; Pentagon technology chief Emil Michael will oversee it.
None of the three co-leads has served in the U.S. military, and the Musk and Luckey companies compete for billions in Pentagon business: SpaceX won a $4.16 billion Space Force contract in May, and Anduril a Marine Corps contract worth up to $642 million in 2025.
The Pentagon also announced plans on Wednesday for a new four-star Autonomous Warfare Command to scale autonomous and robotic systems across the military.

Why it matters

The Pentagon is handing the job of defining what the next wars will demand to two executives whose companies sell to it, plus a former House Speaker. Hegseth framed Project Meridian as a search for the "domains that we must conquer, and capabilities we must master," not a rewrite of strategy or policy. It landed alongside plans for a four-star Autonomous Warfare Command, part of what CNBC describes as a broader Pentagon push into autonomous warfare.

Who it affects

Most directly the Defense Department, which will oversee the work through technology chief Emil Michael, and the broader team from government, industry, academia and the policy world that Hegseth said will support the co-leads. It also touches the defense contractors competing for billions in DOD business, including SpaceX and Anduril, whose leaders now sit among the co-leads. The eventual users of whatever capabilities are identified are future U.S. troops on battlefields Hegseth described as ranging from under the Earth to beyond the moon.

How to use it

This is not a product or a tool to adopt. For readers tracking the story, the concrete markers are the 120-day timeframe, the four named leaders and the Autonomous Warfare Command plan. The source does not say when Project Meridian starts or when its 120 days end, or what form its final output takes.

How solid is it

The announcement comes from the Defense Secretary himself, delivered in a public address at Quantico and reported by CNBC with direct quotes. The names, roles, the 120-day length and Emil Michael's oversight role are all attributed to Hegseth. The contract figures come from CNBC's reporting. Anduril, SpaceX, Tesla and Gingrich had not responded to requests for comment when the article was published, so the co-leads' own side is not yet on record.

Risks and caveats

CNBC flags the overlap between the co-leads' roles and their business interests: Musk and Luckey would help identify future military technology needs while their companies compete for billions in DOD business. It also notes that none of the three has served in the military. The source does not say that any contract will be awarded as a result of the project. It also does not say whether the co-leads are paid, formally appointed or subject to conflict-of-interest rules, and it gives no budget for Project Meridian or timeline for the Autonomous Warfare Command.

“identify the domains that we must conquer, and capabilities we must master”

— Pete Hegseth, Defense Secretary, on the purpose of Project Meridian