WASHINGTON — Lt. Gen. Steven Marks warned that failure to secure funding for the Defense Autonomous Working Group could undermine momentum in U.S. military autonomy efforts. Speaking at the NDIA Emerging Technologies Conference, Marks cited concerns over cost-imposition asymmetries exposed by recent conflicts.

Marks serves as the chief of the Defense Autonomous Working Group (DAWG) and also holds the position of vice-commander of Special Operations Command. He addressed the potential for funding from the fiscal year 2027 budget during his remarks.

"We're at a point where there is a potential for us to get, uh, some money out of the FY27 budget, the president's budget, that will go directly to DAWG," he said. The Trump administration requested $54.6 billion for the Defense Autonomous Working Group in fiscal year 2027.

Of that total request, $1 billion was included in the base budget request. An additional $53.6 billion of the requested funding was sought through the budget reconciliation process. This figure represents an increase from previous allocations.

The Defense Autonomous Working Group received $226 million for fiscal year 2026. DAWG's requested FY2027 funding represents a 24,070% increase over the $225.9 million it received in fiscal year 2026, according to a Pentagon document outlining research and development investments.

"[I] don't know if we're going to get the full ask of $53.6 billion, but my greatest concern is, if we don't get something, then the momentum that we have created since DAWG has been stood up, over a year ago, will be waning," he said.

The general pointed to ongoing conflicts as evidence of the changing nature of warfare. "And it truly concerns me, because I have looked over and seen what they're doing in Ukraine," he said. He also referenced operations in another region.

"I see what's going on with Operation … Epic Fury " in the Middle East, he said. He noted the economic disparity in modern combat scenarios involving unmanned systems.

[But] they can take a $100,000 drone and conduct an attack against a $2 billion vessel. … We are on the losing end of that cost imposition curve," he said. He noted that adversaries are aware of U.S. capabilities."

The DAWG initiative is a direct successor to the Biden-era Replicator program. The Replicator initiative was designed to acquire thousands of low-cost attritable drones, particularly for use in the Pacific. In 2025, the Replicator initiative, which DAWG absorbed, was wound down after its goal of fielding thousands of attritable drones was transitioned into the new DAWG framework.

"Unfortunately, all of our systems are all classified, and so I will not be talking in detail about those," he said. He recently visited a training facility in Alabama.

"Recently, I was in Alabama at Camp Clark, outside of Birmingham, at 20th Special Forces Group," he said. During this visit, he observed the variety of systems currently in use.

"What I heard … is we have six to eight systems that we're operating and we're conducting this [exercise] with," he said. He argued that this diversity creates operational challenges regarding personnel training.

"We need to identify and pick one or two and standardize it, standardize it across the entire formation, because each one of the systems, as I mentioned before, requires a different skill set….so standardizing the systems [is] are critical to the future of autonomous warfare," he said.

Lt. Gen. Steven Marks has served in Afghanistan for nearly a decade, with combat experience in the country since 2002, according to his official biography. He has led U.S. combat formations in Afghanistan at every level, including as Commander of the Special Operations Task Force – Northeast, according to his official biography.

Why It Matters

The proposed funding increase for the Defense Autonomous Working Group marks a substantial shift in defense spending priorities toward autonomous systems. The request seeks to expand upon the goals of the former Replicator initiative, which focused on deploying large numbers of low-cost drones in the Pacific theater.

Failure to secure the requested funds could impact the standardization of autonomous platforms across military formations. Marks identified the existence of multiple disparate systems as a hurdle to efficient operation, noting that each requires different skill sets from personnel. The outcome of the budget reconciliation process will determine whether the department can consolidate these efforts under the DAWG framework.