Gen. Caine: US military must assume formations will be ‘hunted’ by autonomous systems

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, emphasized that the joint force must prove readiness ahead of a conflict in an era where adversaries are becoming increasingly interconnected amid the changing character of war.

Speaking in a Wednesday keynote at the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2026 Air, Space & Cyber Conference, Caine said the force needs to be “clear-eyed” about the environment ahead, as future conflicts will be progressively contested and defy simpler solutions.

“We have to assume from now on that our formations will be hunted by autonomous systems, jammed across the spectrum and tracked in real time,” Caine said in his speech.

“We have to transition the joint force to be prepared to fight and win our future wars by generating and delivering lethality at scale with an agile, optimized, high-low mix of combat capabilities to give the young members of the 2.8 million-member all-volunteer joint force the tools that they need before they need them,” he continued.

Calling the American military and their families the country’s “ultimate insurance policy,” Caine asserted that the joint force needs to be ready for a fight before it begins.

Adversaries Connected Across Geographies

Even as the country’s adversaries are geographically dispersed, they are connected through sharing technology, intelligence, weapons and economic support, Caine said. As the military branches study past and present American battlefields, they are looking for new ways to challenge the advantage, demonstrating the necessity for readiness and investment in a range of military capabilities before a crisis begins.

Recently, Russia and Iran have deepened their military partnership with a technological feedback loop amid the Ukraine war and the conflict in the Middle East. Moscow is sending Iran upgraded munitions, satellite imagery and targeting data that have been used against American forces in the Middle East.

Tehran first supplied Russia with Shahed attack drones for use in Ukraine in 2022 and has since arranged a license to build the Iranian-designed drones on Russian territory.

The Changing Character of War

“The character of war is changing, and time is of the essence,” Caine said, emphasizing how the way and speed in which countries fight is altering on the modern battlefield as artificial intelligence, cyber capabilities and autonomous systems develop.

The chairman noted that the modern battlefield today operates from the seabed to the cislunar space, highlighting that the advantage will go to whoever can see, understand, decide and act first as a learning organization.

Examples of Adaptation

Caine highlighted the June rescue of two Army soldiers by way of a remotely piloted Navy unmanned surface vessel as an example of how the military is adapting and utilizing AI and autonomous tools.

He also referenced how these tools are being used to change the threat in contested electromagnetic interference environments, such as in Ukraine, with first-person view drones.

“Take it together, these examples from the Strait of Hormuz to the front lines in Ukraine show how quickly technology is changing the character of war,” he said.

The Role of Leadership

Caine spotlighted that it will be young service leaders who will be in charge of subsequent conflicts in these environments and will have to be adaptive and understanding of their environment with a plethora of information.

As technology, networks and software continue to change, the need for capable and lethal leaders will not, he said. The nation can bring autonomy and better networks to the force, but none of it will matter without trusted leaders who can work under pressure.

“We must move together because the window to build the force that we need is closing,” Caine said. “We can buy almost anything in life, but we cannot buy time.”

About the author: Cristina Stassis