Abstract:
The U.S. Army is preparing to establish the "Army Future and Autonomous Systems Command" (FASCOM) and establish a procurement director position dedicated to autonomous technology to accelerate the entry of unmanned and autonomous systems into the army. The relevant directive, signed by Acting Army Secretary Adam Taylor, also requires the Army to develop autonomous combat forces in at least six types of forces, including aviation, armor, logistics support and training, and adjust the organization to adapt to autonomous technologies.
The Army memorandum calls for the creation of a new "Autonomous Systems Program Acquisition Director" to prioritize the procurement and deployment of autonomous fire systems, combat vehicles, water supply vessels, obstacle breach equipment, and technology for surveillance and target identification, and to promote the coordination of manned and unmanned platforms. The Army will also extend authorization for positions such as 15X tactical unmanned aerial system experts and 390A robotics experts to all applicable units. The deployment of relevant equipment and capabilities will continue to advance, and some procurement priorities will be implemented by fiscal year 2028 at the latest.
This internal reform of the Army is not the same organization as the joint force-level "Autonomous Warfare Command" (AUTOWARCOM) proposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The latter is planned to become a four-star functional combat command responsible for unmanned and autonomous operations, coordinating joint force requirements and integrating the capabilities provided by the services for each theater combat command. The "Agincourt Plan" signed by Hegseth on September 30 requires preparations to be started immediately, with the goal of establishing the command by October 1, 2027, and allocating personnel, budgets, procurement authorities and specialized military career development paths; realizing these arrangements also requires working with Congress to obtain necessary authorizations.
Program Agincourt is led by the Department of Defense Office of the Direct Reporting Program Manager for Unmanned Systems (DRPM-UxS). The Department of Defense named Owen West, currently director of the Defense Innovation Unit, as the office's chief executive officer and Navy veteran Master Chief Petty Officer Max Strasser as chief operating officer. The office will continue existing work while experimenting with new procurement models to bring warfighters, innovation teams and manufacturers into collaboration to move decisions and funding to the frontline faster. The plan emphasizes that the goal is not just to purchase a certain type of drone, but to establish a procurement and adaptation mechanism that can quickly adjust and continuously expand the scale of effective equipment in actual combat.
As the U.S. military advances this reorganization, the widespread use of drones in air, ground and maritime operations on the Ukrainian battlefield has further promoted the U.S. military’s plan to develop coordination between manned and unmanned equipment. Hegseth said that the inertia of traditional procurement and organizational processes is slowing down military modernization; Acting Secretary of the Army Taylor said that the reform is aimed at speeding up the delivery of new technologies into the hands of soldiers and improving combat readiness and lethality.
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