WASHINGTON(Realist English). Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth stated that the US armed forces are assessing potential costs for creating military assets designed to operate in cislunar orbit and in space. The speech took place at the Air Force Academy in Colorado.
What exactly Hegseth said
According to the secretary, the analysis is being conducted with horizons of five, ten, fifteen, and twenty years in mind. “What cislunar systems, space systems, underground systems, and underwater [systems]? How will combat operations be conducted? How do we prepare today’s budget for tomorrow’s battles?” his words are quoted as saying.
Hegseth noted that “the best minds in the industry” have been brought in to address these tasks. He emphasized that the US must arrive at decisions quickly so that they have significance and can exert influence.
Project “Meridian”
The statement came within the framework of the “Future of Warfare” initiative launched earlier. The central element is Project “Meridian,” presented by Hegseth on September 30 at the Marine Corps base in Quantico.
The project is aimed at studying the full spectrum of potential future combat domains — “from underground depths to cislunar space.” 120 days have been allotted for preparing recommendations, and the final report is due by January 28, 2027.
One of the project’s leaders is American entrepreneur Elon Musk. Among others are Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Initiative “Autonomous Military Command”
In parallel, Hegseth announced the creation of an “Autonomous Military Command” that will focus on developments in robotics and artificial intelligence.
According to the Pentagon chief, the future of warfare lies in the combination of high efficiency and autonomous systems. “We should have done this ten years ago. We are doing it today and rapidly expanding scale,” he stated.
Context: statements by military officials
Earlier, in mid-September 2026, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine stated that US troops must be prepared for combat operations not only in Earth orbit but also in cislunar space — “from the seabed to cislunar space.”
Shortly before that, US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink publicly acknowledged for the first time that the US has deployed space domain awareness assets in orbit.
Russia’s reaction
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier emphasized that the United States would have to explain itself if weapons are placed in space. Russia advocates a ban on the placement of weapons in space and calls on UN countries to support relevant initiatives.
