I followed the paperwork around Project Meridian. The same names keep appearing.
On September 30, the Pentagon put Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey and Newt Gingrich at the head of Project Meridian, a 120-day effort to map the future of warfare and technology.
I wanted to know what was already sitting around that room before the first meeting began.
So I followed the Pentagon announcements, MITRE roster, contracts, financial disclosures, SEC filings, investors and acquisition programs.
What emerged wasn’t proof of a secret agreement. It was something more documentable.
The distance between the people helping define future military needs, the companies positioned to build the technology, and the private capital financing those companies has become remarkably small.
SpaceX. Anduril. Saronic. DIU. Project Agincourt. The proposed Autonomous Warfare Command. The same people and financial networks keep turning up in different chairs. At Quantico, the literal distance was about 200 yards.
Full reporting, sources and Reporter’s Notes:
Part Two of The Same Six Names