Washington, October 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The United States plans to deploy hundreds of thousands of one-way attack drones this year and scale up production to millions in the coming years as the Pentagon accelerates its shift towards autonomous warfare, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has said.
Addressing the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting in Washington on Wednesday, Hegseth outlined plans to combine artificial intelligence, robotics and commercial manufacturing to expand the military’s access to unmanned systems.
“Ultimately we will be dealing with hundreds of thousands of one-way attack systems this year and into the millions in years to come at a pace that this department’s never ever seen before,” he said.
At the centre of the initiative is the proposed Autonomous Warfare Command, known as AutoWarCom, which is intended to coordinate the development, procurement, training and operational deployment of autonomous weapons across the armed services.
The Pentagon announced plans for the command on September 30, with Project Agincourt serving as an interim initiative to prepare for its establishment. The department aims to have the command operational by October 1, 2027, subject to necessary approvals and organisational arrangements. It is expected to be led by a four-star military officer with authority to coordinate efforts across the services.
The Pentagon is seeking approximately $50 billion in additional funding to accelerate the development and production of autonomous and robotic systems. This proposal is separate from its fiscal 2027 budget request, which includes $53.6 billion for the broader Drone Dominance initiative and related capabilities. Both funding plans remain subject to congressional action.
Hegseth argued that traditional military procurement systems, which can take years to develop and field new weapons, must give way to faster processes that allow inexpensive autonomous systems to be manufactured and deployed at scale.
“The services are not fighting us on this concept. They believe in it,” he said.
The initiative is expected to involve the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Space Force, alongside the military’s combatant commands. The Pentagon is also seeking to integrate autonomous technologies into intelligence gathering, battlefield surveillance, precision strikes and logistics.
Under its existing Drone Dominance programme, the Army has outlined plans to acquire approximately 340,000 small unmanned aircraft systems over two years.
Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle said the service was working to improve technology developers’ access to military testing facilities and strengthen training in robotics and autonomous systems.
The proposed command would oversee changes in military doctrine and training as well as weapons acquisition, reflecting the growing role of drones in modern conflicts. Its final structure, funding and deployment capabilities will depend on further decisions by the Pentagon and Congress.
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