The U.S. Department of Defense, now referred to as the War Department, announced on Friday that it has signed agreements with eight leading artificial intelligence companies to deploy their advanced models on classified military networks, marking a major step in the Pentagon’s push to build an “AI-first fighting force.”
The companies are SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, NVIDIA, Reflection, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Oracle. Their AI capabilities will be integrated into the department’s Impact Level 6 (IL6) and Impact Level 7 (IL7) classified environments for “lawful operational use.”
According to the official statement issued by Pentagon, the deals “accelerate the transformation toward establishing the United States military as an AI-first fighting force and will strengthen our warfighters’ ability to maintain decision superiority across all domains of warfare.” The integration aims to “streamline data synthesis, elevate situational understanding, and augment warfighter decision-making in complex operational environments,” supporting the department’s AI Acceleration Strategy across warfighting, intelligence, and enterprise operations.
The Pentagon highlighted its existing GenAI.mil platform, which has already been used by more than 1.3 million Department personnel, generating tens of millions of prompts and deploying hundreds of thousands of AI agents in just five months. Officials said the tools are already cutting routine tasks from months to days.
A key goal of partnering with so many different companies is to avoid “AI vendor lock” and build long-term flexibility by drawing from a diverse suite of American technology providers, as mandated by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Notably absent once again is Anthropic, whose Claude models were previously the only frontier AI systems cleared for classified networks. The Trump administration designated Anthropic a “supply chain risk” earlier this year after the company refused to remove safety guardrails that restricted use for autonomous lethal weapons, such as piloting drones or domestic mass surveillance of Americans. Anthropic has maintained that it would rather forgo the contract than enable what it views as misuse.
The dispute escalated into federal litigation, with Anthropic suing to block the blacklisting. While a judge initially issued an injunction, the company remains formally excluded from federal deals, though some of its technology has lingered on networks due to operational dependence. Defense Department Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael confirmed that Anthropic is still blacklisted.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently met with senior White House officials to discuss the company’s new Mythos AI tool, which has demonstrated advanced cybersecurity capabilities, including identifying vulnerabilities and generating exploits. Michael described Mythos as a “separate national security moment” requiring government-wide attention to harden networks, with the National Security Agency reportedly exploring its use. President Trump told CNBC that “it’s possible” a deal with Anthropic could be reached, calling the company “very smart” and “of great use.”
The new agreements build on prior deals with several of the firms and come as the Pentagon diversifies suppliers after blacklisting Anthropic. OpenAI’s contract, signed shortly after Anthropic’s designation, was later amended to bar domestic surveillance following public backlash.
The statement said that the War Department and these strategic partners share the conviction that American leadership in AI is indispensable to national security. It added, “As mandated by President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, the Department will continue to envelop our warfighters with advanced AI to meet the unprecedented emerging threats of tomorrow and to strengthen our Arsenal of Freedom.”
