Elon Musk returns as Trump adviser to lead Pentagon study on future warfare
Elon Musk will co-lead a new Pentagon project examining the weapons and capabilities the U.S. will need for future conflicts, marking his first official advisory role in the Trump administration since his public feud with President Donald Trump last year.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Project Meridian on Wednesday. Musk will lead the effort alongside Anduril Industries founder Palmer Luckey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Axios reported.
Hegseth said the project would draw on U.S. innovators, senior leaders and technologists to examine “the domains we must conquer, and capabilities we must master.”
Rather than producing new policy documents, the group will focus on identifying, developing and fielding weapons and systems needed for future conflicts.
“We will not only study the wars being fought today but also think seriously about the wars we cannot afford to fight in 2030, 2050, and 2100 — and what America needs to build now to prevent them,” Luckey told Axios.
Musk's SpaceX and Luckey's Anduril both hold major Pentagon contracts. SpaceX provides national-security launch services, while Anduril supplies electronic-warfare systems, interceptors, rocket motors and autonomous aircraft.
The project's final findings are expected within 120 days. A public presentation and a separate classified report are planned.
Musk left the Trump administration's DOGE initiative last year and subsequently had a highly public dispute with the president. Axios reported that the two have since reconciled.
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