# MITRE Not-for-profit corporation that operates federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) for the Department of Defense and other agencies. Because an FFRDC is supposed to supply conflict-free analysis the government cannot buy on the open market, MITRE's name is the standard assurance offered when outside industry figures are brought inside a Pentagon study — including Project Meridian, the 120-day future-of-warfare study announced 2026-09-30 and led by [[Elon Musk]], [[Palmer Luckey]] and [[Newt Gingrich]], where the Pentagon said MITRE "is responsible for the analysis and recommendations." > Status: stub — expand with MITRE's FFRDC portfolio, its conflict-of-interest firewall rules, and how those rules apply when study leads hold active defense contracts.