"Project Meridian". Musk previously headed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he drove sweeping federal job cuts before leaving in May 2025. Announcing the project at Quantico military base, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth described it as "an effort led by America's best minds to study the future of warfare", drawing on innovators, senior leaders and technologists. Musk will co-lead alongside Palmer Luckey, the 34-year-old co-founder of defense tech firm Anduril Industries, and Newt Gingrich, the 83-year-old former Republican House speaker. The project's members will include hand-picked private-sector leaders and experts from innovation, academia and policy, with findings due within 120 days. Musk's companies are already major Pentagon contractors: SpaceX is building satellite networks for Trump's planned "Golden Dome" missile defense shield, and his AI firm xAI signed a deal this year allowing the military to use its Grok chatbot on classified systems. Musk backed Trump in 2024, but the two later clashed publicly over the president's spending legislation. They have since reconciled, and Musk has become a frequent White House presence again - attending an AI executives' lunch on Tuesday, where he signed a voluntary AI safety accord Trump called "morally binding", and the state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping. He has also resumed donating to Republican causes, giving at least $90 million toward November's midterms after spending over $250 million in 2024. (Bssnews)