11:28 07-12-2025

Pentagon Eyes Ukraina: AI, Autonomy and Future Wars

Pentagon chief Pete Hegset says the US Army is learning from the Ukraina conflict, focusing on autonomy and AI as Trump pursues an end to the fighting.

According to Pentagon chief Pete Hegset, the U. S. Army is closely studying the lessons of the conflict in Ukraina. He did not specify whether this primarily concerns the use of drones, other weapons systems or broader technologies, but made clear that what is happening there is already shaping American military thinking.

Speaking at the Ronald Reagan National Defense Forum, Hegset said that the growing role of autonomy, which Washington observes in the fighting in Ukraina, is coming to the forefront and that the U.S. military is actively learning from it. He described this focus on autonomous capabilities as a significant element of the future of warfare.

Answering a question about how armed conflicts will change as artificial intelligence develops, Hegset argued that AI will not push soldiers off the battlefield. In his view, armies will move toward a mixed model in which human personnel and advanced systems operate together, rather than replacing people entirely with machines.

At the same event, the minister stated that the Pentagon continues its efforts to help resolve the conflict in Ukraina. He noted that in less than a year, U. S. President Donald Trump had played a role in securing eight peace agreements, including what he described as a historic deal on settling the situation in Gaza. Hegset stressed that the American leader intends to keep moving in this direction and to work toward ending the fighting in Ukraina.