Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Oct. 14 that the Pentagon is seeking roughly $50 billion for autonomous and robotic systems as part of the administration’s broader $350 billion defense reconciliation funding request, which Congress has yet to approve.
“We’d love to do it through the regular budget process, but if we cannot, then we’ll do it through reconciliation,” Hegseth said. He described $350 billion as a minimum target and said the amount could be higher.
Speaking at the Association of the United States Army’s 2026 conference in Washington, D.C., Hegseth said the funding is intended to support the military’s planned Autonomous Warfare Command (AUTOWARCOM).
The administration has requested $350 billion in mandatory defense spending through budget reconciliation to help reach its proposed nearly $1.5 trillion national defense spending target for fiscal year (FY) 2027. The funding would support military modernization, procurement, research and development, critical munitions, and expansion of the defense industrial base.
Congress, however, has not yet approved the requested funding. The House has passed a budget resolution proposing a substantially smaller $60 billion defense reconciliation allocation, focused largely on replenishing munitions and covering costs associated with active conflicts. Senate action remains stalled.
“We will ensure, regardless of what happens in the midterms, we’re running fast immediately with the committees to ensure that that reconciliation bill, at a minimum of [$ 350 billion], potentially more, ultimately fills up what this department needs,” he said.
Pentagon officials, including Comptroller Jay Hurst, have acknowledged that if Congress does not approve the full request, some defense priorities may need to shift into regular discretionary spending bills or be deferred until FY 2028.
Among the priorities potentially affected is the Pentagon’s push to expand autonomous warfare capabilities.
Hegseth said approximately $50 billion of the proposed reconciliation funding would support autonomous and robotic systems, explaining that rapidly expanding those capabilities would require a centralized command structure.
Hegseth announced plans for the Autonomous Warfare Command, or AUTOWARCOM, during his September state of the force speech. The Pentagon has set Oct. 1, 2027, as the target date for activating the organization as a four-star combatant command, although Hegseth has said he expects the work could be completed sooner.
Unlike a traditional combatant command, AUTOWARCOM is intended to have service-like authorities over acquisition, procurement, and deployment of autonomous systems. The structure would allow the Pentagon to coordinate investments across the services and move new drone and robotic capabilities from development into operational use more quickly.
“Whether or not we rebuild our military to meet the threats of the future will depend on funding the president’s vision for $1.5 trillion,” Hegseth said. “Scaling that quickly requires the architecture of an AUTOWARCOM and the services flowing in the same direction.”