Hegseth Puts Musk, Luckey and Gingrich in Charge of Pentagon's Future-Warfare Study

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced September 30, 2026, that Elon Musk, Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will co-lead "Project Meridian," a 120-day Pentagon review to identify the military domains and weapons the U.S. must master, with a scope Hegseth described as running "from underground to beyond the moon." Pentagon technology chief Emil Michael will oversee the effort; none of the three co-leads has military service experience.

Musk's SpaceX holds billions of dollars in active Pentagon contracts, including a $4.16 billion Space Force satellite-tracking deal awarded in May 2026, and Luckey's Anduril depends on government weapons sales, meaning two of the three officials shaping the Pentagon's future-weapons priorities stand to profit directly from the outcome. Hegseth himself acknowledged "obvious biases and risks in the Pentagon asking itself to pose the questions and answer them."

The review is expected to run through early 2027. Neither Musk's nor Luckey's companies have said whether they will recuse themselves from contracts the study's recommendations could favor.