Who supplies the AI-first military?

Between 2025 and 2026 the Pentagon and NATO moved from pilots to enterprise-scale deals with Palantir, Google, OpenAI and xAI, while the Anthropic dispute showed the price of setting usage limits. This line traces the vendor map and the contract terms that came with it.

1. 14 Apr 2025ProcurementDefenceINTL

   NATO buys Palantir's Maven Smart System for its operational headquarters

   NATO's operational HQ buys a commercial AI targeting and decision-support system in six months.

2. 14 Jul 2025ProcurementDefenceUS

   Pentagon AI office awards Anthropic, Google, OpenAI and xAI up to $200m each

   Four frontier labs get up to $200m each for agentic military workflows.

   Also on The Pentagon, the labs and the limits on use

3. 31 Jul 2025ProcurementDefenceUS

   US Army folds 75 Palantir contracts into one deal worth up to $10bn

   The Army consolidates 75 Palantir contracts into a $10bn, ten-year vehicle.

4. 9 Dec 2025LaunchDefenceUS

   Department of War launches GenAI.mil with Google's Gemini for Government

   Gemini becomes the first model on a platform for 3 million personnel.

5. 12 Jan 2026PolicyDefenceUS

   Hegseth orders an 'AI-first' military and 'any lawful use' terms for AI contracts

   'Any lawful use' and 30-day model parity become procurement criteria.

   Also on The Pentagon, the labs and the limits on use, Project Meridian and the race to govern military AI

6. 27 Feb 2026Enforcement or rulingDefenceUS

   Pentagon labels Anthropic a supply-chain risk after it refuses to drop two limits

   Refusing those terms gets a lab cut off from the defence market.

   Also on The Pentagon, the labs and the limits on use, Project Meridian and the race to govern military AI, Procurement as AI policy

7. 28 Feb 2026DealDefenceUS

   OpenAI agrees to deploy its models on Department of War classified networks

   OpenAI wins classified work by enforcing limits through architecture and contract.

   Also on The Pentagon, the labs and the limits on use

8. 25 Sep 2026Enforcement or rulingDefenceUS

   Appeals court upholds Pentagon's supply-chain-risk label on Anthropic

   An appeals court lets the military's designation stand.

   Also on The Pentagon, the labs and the limits on use, Procurement as AI policy

9. 30 Sep 2026ProgrammeDefenceUS

   Hegseth launches Project Meridian with Musk, Luckey and Gingrich to plan future war

   The heads of SpaceX and Anduril now help set long-range requirements.

   Also on The Pentagon, the labs and the limits on use, Project Meridian and the race to govern military AI