Senators want a new robot warfare-focused combatant command

Senators want the Pentagon to create a new autonomous warfare-focused combatant command led by a four-star general, according to the latest version of the annual defense policy bill. 

The Senate Armed Services Committee wants the Defense Department “to adopt the future of warfare by permitting the establishment of the Robotic and Autonomous Systems Combatant Command,” according to the group’s summary of the National Defense Authorization Act. A committee staffer told reporters on Thursday that senators were inspired, in part, by Ukraine’s creation of a drone-focused military service. 

“It’s not a new domain. Uncrewed, unmanned, whatever you want to call them, are in every domain, sub-surface, surface, and aerial, and probably more in the future,” the staffer said. “What we ended up with was a four-star combatant command that we think will help to integrate, and go fast, and transition the force generation of unmanned systems to the services sometime in the future.”

Another staffer told reporters the command would also have “special kinds of test and evaluation authorities, and limited acquisition authorities” to experiment with emerging weapons. 

It was not immediately clear how the group would operate and interact with other military efforts, such as U.S. Southern Command’s new autonomous warfare group. In April, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the Pentagon would create a sub-unified command, similar to the Joint Special Operations Command, focused on autonomous warfare. 

SASC’s version of the NDAA passed 18-9, staffers told reporters on Thursday. The full text of the committee’s markup bill has not been released yet, and spokespeople did not immediately respond to follow-up questions asking for more details.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told reporters on Thursday that “with deep regret” he voted against the NDAA bill for the first time in his career, and said it turned a “blind eye” to the Trump administration’s military pursuits across the globe. He said he did, however, support the amendment that would probe the creation of the new combatant command.

“I supported the amendment, but the amendment is permissive, not mandatory,” Kaine said. “It does allow the DoD to sort of work with the committee to kind of flesh out what this might look like.”

Feeding the DAWG

As part of the Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion 2027 defense budget request, the Pentagon has asked for nearly $55 billion for the Defense Autonomous Working Group, or DAWG. The vast majority of that, more than $53 billion, would come from a yet-to-be-approved reconciliation bill. 

President Donald Trump called for Republicans to back a third spending package to fund the $350 billion in top defense priorities such as the DAWG, Golden Dome, and shipbuilding. Top Senate appropriators oppose the move, which sidesteps their authority and would only require a simple majority to pass. 

This week, House appropriators backed the administration’s $1 billion in its baseline budget request for the DAWG, a fraction of what they’re asking for. The Senate Armed Services Committee’s NDAA also backs the administration’s $1.15 trillion discretionary funding request.

Kaine said he’s worried that repeated reconciliation funding for defense needs sets a dangerous precedent and undermines appropriators.

“I worry about a trend that says ‘well, let's just put more and more of it in a reconciliation bill that can be done by the majority without minority input and bypass the appropriations process altogether,’” Kaine said. “We started down this path last year. This takes it to a different level, and it is a trend that I think we should nip in the bud by requiring this stuff to be part of the defense appropriations bill, and not separate in a reconciliation package.”

The first SASC staffer told reporters that Sen. Roger Wicker, the committee chairman, expects a successful discretionary appropriations process, but was less definitive about other budget maneuvers. 

“We expect to be sent, and debate, perhaps process, a supplemental, and then we will look to reconciliation,” the first staffer said. “The members are definitely committed to staying in very, very close coordination with the administration and the appropriations subcommittees as we all go into what will be a very uncertain six months.”