Pentagon officials and nine current and former officials warn that Project Meridian could compromise the department’s long-term integrity by giving Elon Musk and Palmer Luckey preferential access to military planning. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s initiative asks Musk, SpaceX’s CEO, Luckey, Anduril’s founder, and former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich to map the trajectory of future warfare and report back in four months. The Pentagon has disclosed few details beyond a four-paragraph authorization memo calling for the United States to dominate the next generation of warfare. Musk and Luckey lead companies with billions of dollars in Pentagon contracts, raising concerns that the review could steer additional business toward them. Existing plans identify findings due January 28, 2027, although the authorization memo describes a four-month reporting window. The study has no authority over troops, budgets or weapons procurement, and Hegseth’s signed memo does not name Musk. It will examine battlefields from deep underground to the space around the moon, with Pentagon technology chief Emil Michael facilitating the work. The initiative follows the early dissolution of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which Musk helped lead, and continuing scrutiny of its claimed savings.