Pentagon taps Musk and Luckey to map future warfare

On Sept. 30, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth commissioned Project Meridian, directing Pentagon chief technology officer Emil Michael to study future battlefields and submit recommendations by Jan. 28, 2027. In the State of the Force speech that day, Hegseth named Elon Musk, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich as co-leads. The signed memorandum does not name those co-leads; Politico later reported Pentagon officials warning that Musk's and Luckey's companies hold large Defense contracts.