With war project, US tech ecosystem is beginning to look a lot like China’s

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Alpert, C. (2026, October 9). With war project, US tech ecosystem is beginning to look a lot like China’s. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3369824/war-project-us-tech-ecosystem-beginning-look-lot-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed

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The article discusses how the US tech industry, through initiatives like Project Meridian, is increasingly aligning with the military-industrial complex, mirroring China's model but from a different direction. It highlights this shift as a significant departure from past dynamics, where defense contractors influenced policy in Washington, D.C., while now Silicon Valley companies are becoming directly involved in shaping future warfare strategies.

Written by AI on 2026-10-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

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The US Navy established the Robotic and Autonomous Systems Warfighting Development Center (RASWDC) at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia to rapidly integrate robotic and autonomous systems into naval operations, training, and deployment. Announced on September 24, RASWDC aims to consolidate efforts across air, surface, and undersea domains, developing doctrine and tactics for unmanned platforms. Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the creation of AUTOWARCOM, a new four-star command dedicated to autonomous warfare technology, at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. This initiative will oversee rapid scaling of autonomous technologies across military forces, shifting focus from costly conventional weapons to cheaper AI-driven systems proven effective in recent conflicts like Ukraine. Additionally, Hegseth launched Project Meridian, involving tech leaders Elon Musk and Palmer Luckey, to forecast future warfare domains and capabilities needed for American dominance.

Written for “US Military AI Drone Warfare Development” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 12 other(s) covering the same event.

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Claims (5 extracted, 0 hedged)

With war project, US tech ecosystem is beginning to look a lot like China’s asserted

ecosystem → begin → China

The US is moving towards a fusion of the government and the military-industrial complex – the Chinese model from the opposite direction Project Meridian goes much further than the influence of defence contractors in Washington. asserted

Meridian → move → Washington

It marks the beginning of Silicon Valley arriving at the halls of power, where the future of warfare itself is being imagined. asserted

future → mark → warfare

The post-war years have been marked by an ever-closer relationship between American defence contractors and the government. asserted

years → mark → contractors

This was exactly the convergence president Dwight Eisenhower warned against in his 1961 farewell address. asserted

Eisenhower → warn → address

With war project, US tech ecosystem is beginning to look a lot like China’s

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