A new Pentagon study focusing on the future of warfare is raising ethical concerns about its authors' potential conflicts of interest. Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced "Project Meridian: The Future of Warfare," a study of automated and AI-powered weaponry. In addition to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the other two leaders of the project are SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Palmer Luckey, the co-founder of defense technology firm Anduril.
The study is expected to take 120 days. "We are witnessing rapid advances in artificial intelligence, autonomy, directed energy, robotics, biotechnology, among other critical high-tech areas. Combined, these new domains, new ways of fighting, and technological developments will profoundly alter the character of warfare," Hegseth's September 30 announcement said.
"To maintain global dominance, the United States must anticipate future operational environments and act decisively to develop the tools to dominate in them." The study's announcement came just days before an expected speech by President Trump at an Anduril facility in Baltimore on Tuesday. Anduril Industries builds military drones that are used on land, sea and in the air and other related defense technologies. The company received its initial funding from tech billionaire and conservative political activist Peter Thiel.
SpaceX has secured over $8 billion in U.S. defense contracts in 2026 alone, according to government contract announcements. One of its flagship products is Starshield, a military-grade, low-Earth-orbit satellite network designed to provide secure communications for the government. The company's AI chatbot, Grok, is also being used by the Pentagon.
There is a concern that Musk and Luckey's study would be guided by their own financial interests, said Richard Painter, a professor of corporate law at the University of Minnesota and former chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. "They all want to sell stuff," Painter said. "So if we go into it understanding that [Musk], like all the other contractors, he wants to make a lot of money selling AI to the Defense Department.
Whatever he proposes, but it's not like he's doing it as a neutral public service." "It's a massive conflict of interest," said a former senior Defense Department official who requested anonymity out of fear of reprisal from the Trump administration. The official said that not only do both Luckey and Musk have billions of dollars in current defense contracts, but the study could also shape the types of munitions the U.S. buys in the future. For example, it could recommend more drones or space-based assets — which both Luckey and Musk build — and fewer tanks, which they don't build.
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