WASHINGTON (Nexstar) — The future of the Army could lie in Austin. The U.S. Army has announced Texas’ capital city as its location for the Army Futures Command, where it aims to develop cutting edge technology for soldiers under a more centralized structure.

The announcement from the Pentagon comes as officials look to modernize the military.

“This is the biggest organizational change for Army since 1973,” Army Secretary Mark Esper said Friday morning.

“The Army chose Austin as a location for the AFC headquarters because it not only possess the talent, entrepreneurial spirit, and access to key partners we are seeking, but also because it offers the quality of life our people desire, and a cost of living they can afford,” Esper said. He explained that academia and industry were factors in choosing Austin.

“What we tried to do was find the best place for the Army, for the mission, for our people,” Esper stated.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said the planning for this change has been several years in the making.

“We are in the midst of a change in the very character of war,” Milley said.

“No one was solely dedicated to looking into the deep future and determine the implications to the United States Army and the conduct of ground combat for this change in character of war that we are coming to grips with,” Milley added. He said this would streamline and consolidate and “bring unity of command and purpose for the army” to look into how future capabilities are developed.

Esper outlined some of the ways officials aim to modernize.

“So it begins with the long range fires, future vertical lift, next generation combat vehicle, et cetera, all the way down to soldier lethality,” Esper stated.

When asked about the military capabilities of Russia and China, Milley said that the Army has made a concerted effort to maintain readiness as a top priority, but also “shift gears and re-energize our modernization effort.”

“We analyzed that closely and we decided that we needed to restructure the corporation, so to speak, in order to achieve greater speed, de-layer the organization, in order to reduce bureaucracy not increase bureaucracy, and in order to get there ‘first-est with the most-est’ with the best technology available in the hands of those soldiers,” Milley continued.

Army Undersecretary Ryan McCarthy said military officials visited five finalist cities: Austin, Boston, Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Philadelphia and Raleigh/Durham before making the decision to pick Texas. He said personnel were set to arrive Friday, with a goal to be fully staffed next year and have a commander in place. The Army anticipates bringing 500 people —active duty and civilians — to this new location. The University of Texas System will be the home of the headquarters, officials announced Friday afternoon, saying that UT will provide not only physical space, but also resources and expertise from the entire UT system.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement after the announcement.

“The legacy of America’s freedom depends in part on the ability of our Armed Forces to remain at the forefront of technological advancement, expand our military’s power to assess threats, and modernize our defense,” Abbott said. “The State of Texas is proud to partner with the U.S. Army in establishing the Futures Command to harness the cutting-edge technologies needed to build an innovative, research-based foundation for our national defense. This sweeping reorganization of the Army’s military efforts adds to the historic connection between Texas and the U.S. military, and I am proud of their presence in the Lone Star State.”

Both U.S. Senators for Texas, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, issued statements as well.

“Army Futures Command is charged with modernizing the Army for the future and integrating emerging technologies to meet future threats,” Cruz said, in a series of tweets. “From our universities to our technology sector, Texas is ready to partner with the U.S. Army and propel the force into the future.”

Cornyn wrote a letter to Esper last month, in an effort to woo the Department of Defense to select Austin.

“Austin’s dynamic growth, access to top research institutions like the University of Texas, and proximity to innovative tech and business industries make the city a strong choice for the new Army Futures Command,” Cornyn said Friday. “I look forward to supporting this new Command as it develops technologies to carry our nation’s warfighters into the future.”