DOD Inks AI Deal With Major Tech Firms

The Department of Defense (DOD) announced today that it entered into agreements with eight artificial intelligence (AI) companies to deploy advanced AI capabilities across its classified networks for what officials described as “lawful operational use.”

Under the Trump administration, the DOD was rebranded as the Department of War.

The agreements include partnerships with SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, NVIDIA, Reflection, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Oracle.

Under the agreements, frontier AI technologies will be integrated into Impact Level 6 and Impact Level 7 classified network environments, according to the announcement. Officials said the effort is intended to streamline data synthesis, improve situational awareness, and support warfighter decision-making in complex operational settings.

The initiative is also aimed at advancing capabilities across the department’s three core areas: warfighting, intelligence, and enterprise operations.

It remains unclear when the AI systems will be fully deployed on classified networks.

Anthropic saga continues

The announcement comes amid an ongoing dispute between the DOD and Anthropic, which is notably absent from the list of participating firms.

The dispute began when Anthropic refused to allow its AI models to be used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons, prompting President Donald Trump to order federal agencies to cut ties. The company, which had been the first to deploy AI on Pentagon classified systems, was later designated a “supply chain risk” by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth – a label typically reserved for foreign national security threats.

Anthropic has since filed two lawsuits alleging illegal retaliation. The cases, filed in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., are ongoing.

Due to the designation, defense contractors are required to certify that they do not use Anthropic’s Claude models in military-related work.

However, the federal government appears to still be interested in some of Anthropic’s technology, particularly its new AI model, Claude Mythos Preview.

Senior officials, including the president himself, have signaled interest in Mythos. Anthropic also confirmed it has been in discussions with U.S. government officials about the model’s cyber capabilities and national security implications.

Anthropic has said that the Mythos model has advanced coding capabilities that can surpass most human experts in identifying and exploiting software vulnerabilities.

Anthropic has limited access to the Mythos model to a select group of technology companies, citing concerns about potential risks from a broader release.

Most recently, DOD Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael described the capability as a “national security moment,” yet he maintained that the company’s supply chain risk status remains unchanged.

“I think the Mythos issue that’s being dealt with government-wide, not just at Department War, is a separate national security moment where we have to make sure that our networks are hardened up,” Michael said during a live interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box.

He added that the model’s capabilities are particularly suited to identifying and addressing cyber vulnerabilities.

It is unclear how the Pentagon could utilize the Mythos model without violating its own restrictions.