Insider Brief
- Agility Robotics CEO Peggy Johnson will participate as an individual consultant in Mitre-led Project Meridian, a Department of War initiative examining emerging technologies and military capabilities over the next 10 to 20 years.
- The 120-day study will assess technologies including AI, autonomy, directed energy, robotics and biotechnology and recommend ways to develop, test and field capabilities for future military operations.
- Project Meridian is co-directed by Newt Gingrich, Palmer Luckey and Elon Musk and includes executives, investors, technologists, policy experts and former military leaders, with recommendations due to the secretary’s office by Jan. 28, 2027.
Agility Robotics CEO Peggy Johnson will participate in Project Meridian, a Department of War-commissioned initiative led by Mitre Corporation to examine emerging technologies and military capabilities over the next 10 to 20 years.
According to Mitre, its technical experts will examine emerging technologies and their implications for military operations while developing strategic recommendations for the Department of War. Mitre will produce an independent, unclassified report of no more than 30 pages at the end of the 120-day project, with separate classified annexes as needed, according to the DOW’s Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering.
Project Meridian will also draw on outside business leaders, technologists, policy experts and former government officials. Mitre said participants will meet regularly to help shape recommendations covering capability development, investment priorities and potential operating concepts for future battlefields.
Johnson will participate as an individual consultant to Mitre, bringing experience from commercial humanoid robotics deployments to discussions about how emerging technologies could support future military operations. Her participation is separate from the company’s commercial operations, Agility noted.
“I see an important opportunity for humanoid robots to support the men and women serving our country by taking on physically demanding and repetitive logistics tasks, strengthening supply chains and allowing personnel to focus on higher-value work,” Johnson said in the announcement. “I look forward to bringing lessons from real-world commercial deployments to Project Meridian and contributing to a broader conversation about how emerging technologies can address the challenges of future defense operations.”
The Pentagon memo commissioning the project specifically points to artificial intelligence, autonomy, directed energy, robotics and biotechnology as technologies changing warfare, calls for the Joint Staff and military services to connect their future-warfare research to the project and says outside technologists, innovators, business leaders, policymakers and national-security experts will contribute to the effort.
Project Meridian Participants
The initiative is co-directed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Anduril Industries founder Palmer Luckey and Elon Musk. Mitre’s current participant list also includes Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Johnson and a range of technology executives, investors, policy specialists and former military leaders.
Mitre said the membership represents the initiative’s current composition and is expected to evolve as the project develops. According to Mitre, the Meridian Project current participants include:
- Safra Catz — Executive Vice Chair, Oracle board (former Oracle CEO)
- Victoria Coleman — Professor, UC Berkeley EECS; Associate Provost / Director, Berkeley Space Center (former DARPA director)
- John Hering — Co-founder and Executive Director, Lookout; co-founder, Vy Capital and Coalition
- Peggy Johnson — CEO, Agility Robotics
- Kaj Larsen — Co-founder, AmmoBase; Head of Military Investing and Communications, Siebert Financial
- Joe Lonsdale — Founder and Managing Partner, 8VC
- Dino Mavrookas — Co-founder and CEO, Saronic Technologies
- Dan Patt — Chief Strategy Officer, STR; Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
- Chris Power — CEO, Hadrian
- Gen. James Rainey, USA (Ret.) — Strategic Adviser, Govini (former Army Futures Command)
- Phil Root — CTO, GRVTY (former DARPA STO director)
- Nadia Schadlow — National Security Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution; Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
- Rick Smith — Founder and CEO, Axon Enterprise
- Bob Smith — former Chairman and CEO, Blue Origin; Strategic Advisor, General Fusion
- Joshua Steinman — Co-founder and CEO, Galvanick
- Kevin Weil — Board director, Stoke Space (former OpenAI CPO)
- Francis J. “Bing” West Jr. — Author and military commentator; former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
