The Pentagon has launched a new artificial intelligence strategy aimed at cementing US leadership in military AI and pushing advanced capabilities into real-world operations faster.
Mandated by President Donald Trump, the plan positions the US military as an “AI-first” force, built to outpace rivals in speed, scale, and decision-making.
At its core, the strategy formalizes and scales AI efforts already underway across the services, cutting through bureaucratic slowdowns and matching the rapid pace of commercial AI innovation.
“Speed defines victory in the AI era, and the War Department will match the velocity of America’s AI industry,” said Emil Michael, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.
From Experimentation to Execution
The acceleration effort centers on three mission areas: warfighting, intelligence, and enterprise operations.
Seven “pace-setting projects” will drive execution, each led by a single official and built around aggressive timelines.
On the warfighting side, Swarm Forge pairs elite units with top tech innovators to rapidly test, compete, and scale AI-enabled tactics.
Agent Network develops AI agents to support commanders in battle management, planning, and real-time decision-making, while Ender’s Foundry focuses on AI-driven simulations and wargaming.
For intelligence, Open Arsenal compresses the timeline from intelligence discovery to deployable capability from years to hours.
Project Grant uses AI to make deterrence more dynamic, signaling capability and intent to adversaries with real-time, data-backed signals.
At the enterprise level, GenAI.mil — rolled out in December — will provide secure, department-wide access to advanced generative AI models, speeding up analysis, planning, and daily workflows.
Enterprise Agents will also standardize AI agent deployment across the Pentagon, automating routine tasks and freeing personnel for mission-critical work.
