Musk, Luckey And Gingrich Walk Into The Pentagon: Hegseth Unveils "Project Meridian" As Defense Stocks Suffer Record Losing Streak

What do you get when you put the world's first trillionaire, the man who builds killer drones in Ohio, and a former House Speaker in a room and ask them to design the next century of warfare? According to Pete Hegseth, you get "Project Meridian."

In a sprawling "State of the Force" address to junior officers and enlisted troops at Marine Corps Base Quantico on Wednesday, the Secretary of War announced that Elon Musk, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey and Newt Gingrich (all three were in the audience) will lead an initiative "focused on discovering, developing and fielding the weapons and systems that our children and our grandchildren will need in their lifetimes."

"Its purpose is to creatively look to the future and identify the domains that we must conquer and capabilities we must master," Hegseth said, adding that "the best forecasters of future conflict" do "not solely reside inside the Pentagon."

The project will be overseen by Emil Michael, the former Uber executive who is now the Pentagon's top technology official. Bloomberg said Hegseth offered no further details, although Axios reports that the trio is expected to deliver its findings within 120 days, in both a public and a classified version.

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