WASHINGTON — Acting Secretary of the Army Adam R. Telle has officially signed a service directive establishing the U.S. Army Futures and Autonomous Systems Command (FASCOM), fundamentally restructuring how the Army acquires, tests, and operationally fields autonomous systems and human-machine teaming (HMT) capabilities. Following the Department of Defense’s broader push under the newly created Autonomous Warfare Command, FASCOM centralizes autonomy modernization to transition uncrewed assets from isolated experimental units into organic, permanent force structures across six core operational branches: Aviation, Armor, Fires, Sustainment, Engineer, and Training formations by Fiscal Year 2028.
Under the directive, the service is appointing a dedicated Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Autonomy to streamline procurement across priority focus areas—including autonomous strike fires, robotic combat vehicles (RCVs), uncrewed resupply watercraft/aerial systems, robotic minefield breaching, and advanced Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA) platforms. Rather than relying solely on external defense contractors for software maintenance, the command works in lockstep with new technical career fields—specifically 390A Robotics Technicians and expanded 15X Tactical UAS Specialists—to allow forward-deployed combat formations to program, adapt, and repair autonomous AI behaviors at the tactical edge.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: U.S. ARMY FASCOM AUTONOMOUS INTEGRATION FRAMEWORK
* Command Entity: U.S. Army Futures and Autonomous Systems Command (FASCOM)
* Directing Authority: Memorandum signed by Acting Secretary of the Army Adam R. Telle (October 2, 2026)
* Sponsoring Defense Framework: Alignment with DoD-wide Autonomous Warfare Command / Strategic Autonomy Directives
* Program Milestone & Fielding Target: Portfolio Acquisition Executive appointed; priority operational capability fielding across maneuver units no later than FY2028
1. FORMATION-WIDE AUTONOMOUS INTEGRATION DOMAINS (6 CORE BRANCHES)
* Aviation Formations: Advanced Crewed-Uncrewed Teaming (MUM-T) utilizing Launched Effects (ALTIUS 700, AEVEX Atlas 600) deployed tens of kilometers ahead of AH-64E Apache and UH-60M Black Hawk platforms for standoff ISR, EW jamming, and strike
* Armor & Infantry Formations: Infantry Last Tactical Mile & RCV platforms for automated point reconnaissance, flank security, casualties evacuation (CASEVAC), and high-threat lead maneuvering
* Fires Formations: Autonomous sensor-to-shooter loops pairing uncrewed aerial sensors with automated mobile artillery and loitering munition arrays
* Engineer Formations: Autonomous minefield/obstacle breaching systems and counter-mobility robotic platforms
* Sustainment Formations: Joint Autonomous Aerial Resupply System (JAARS) and uncrewed watercraft for automated cargo delivery to dispersed forward nodes
* Training Formations: Integration of tactical autonomous threat surrogates and synthetic AI battlefield simulation suites
2. TECHNICAL TALENT & EDGE AUTONOMY SUSTAINMENT
* Organic Maintenance & Programming: Specialized 390A Robotics Technician Warrant Officers and 15X Tactical UAS Specialists embedded directly within Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) and Multi-Domain Task Forces (MDTFs)
* Tactical Edge Software Adaptability: Onboard edge-AI computing enabling autonomous waypointing, optical navigation, and target engagement in complete GPS-denied and heavily RF-jammed electromagnetic environments
