The United States military has incorporated Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence system, Grok, into its battlefield operations, with the technology reportedly assisting in airstrike missions against targets in Iran.
The disclosure was contained in a federal legal filing reviewed by AFP on Tuesday, highlighting a major expansion of the Pentagon’s use of privately developed artificial intelligence tools in active military engagements.
The development underscores the growing military adoption of Silicon Valley technology after a recent shift in the Pentagon’s network of defence suppliers. Although the US government had previously depended on other AI platforms, it moved toward Musk’s xAI system after some competing developers raised concerns over the ethical consequences of allowing artificial intelligence to support fully automated warfare. The move has placed the technology company directly within the framework of ongoing US military activities in the Middle East.
According to AFP, the June 15 legal filing was submitted by the US Department of Justice as part of its defence of gas turbines supplying power to a large xAI data centre that is facing an environmental lawsuit. Federal prosecutors argued that the case “threatens American national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War’s military operations.”
The government relied on testimony from Pentagon AI chief Cameron Stanley to strengthen its argument. In his sworn statement, Stanley confirmed that Grok is being used as part of Project Maven, the US military’s artificial intelligence-enabled targeting programme. He said the Maven Smart Systems (MSS) “enabled US forces to deploy over 2,000 munitions to 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours during Operation Epic Fury,” while also highlighting “the greatly increased operational efficiency made possible by the Grok Gov Model.”
Project Maven was originally built around Anthropic’s Claude artificial intelligence model. However, the US government ended its agreements with Anthropic in late February after the company declined to permit its technology to be used for fully automated strikes or large-scale surveillance of Americans. AFP reported that the Pentagon later expanded its partnerships with other AI firms, including Google, OpenAI, and xAI, to continue advancing military artificial intelligence capabilities.
The changeover has faced challenges, with the US government acknowledging in March that Claude was still being used in operations linked to the Iran conflict, showing that replacing one AI system with another has taken time. The growing military role of artificial intelligence has also triggered opposition within the technology industry. At Google, more than 600 employees urged the company not to provide AI systems for classified military operations, reflecting wider concerns about the potential risks associated with advanced AI deployment.
Meanwhile, xAI’s infrastructure has come under domestic legal pressure. The NAACP, a civil rights organisation focused on protecting the rights of Black Americans, has filed a lawsuit against xAI, alleging that the company operates numerous turbines without proper permits in violation of the Clean Air Act. The organisation claims the equipment contributes to pollution in predominantly Black communities. xAI has disputed the allegations, arguing that the turbines are temporary and mobile and therefore do not fall under standard environmental requirements.
The legal dispute comes as Musk’s business empire undergoes major changes and expands financially. Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, merged xAI with his space company SpaceX in February. AFP reported that the combined venture later completed what it described as the largest initial public offering in history on June 12.
