Topline
U.S. Central Command and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday said they’re creating the first bilateral task force focused on speeding up the development of artificial intelligence tools for military use, news that comes as the Pentagon battles with Anthropic over its use of commercial AI models.
The Anthropic logo is displayed on a smartphone.
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Key Facts
CENTCOM on Tuesday said American and Emirati experts in AI, data and cybersecurity will be part of an Abu Dhabi-based task force called Talon Synapse, set to formally launch in the coming weeks.
The task force will focus on using AI applications for intelligence gathering, protecting infrastructure and “monitoring the regional security environment,” CENTCOM said, adding that the group’s goal is to “foster innovation at speed and scale.”
Officials in Washington last month loosened export controls on the United Arab Emirates, making it easier to send AI chips, military items, certain commercial satellites and spacecraft and allowing the UAE government to access advanced computing items license-free.
The Commerce Department referenced its longstanding military and defense partnership with the UAE in making the change and said the country “played a key role advancing U.S. interests during Operation Epic Fury,” referring to the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that began in February.
Key Background
The UAE has invested heavily in AI infrastructure, research and partnerships with U.S. technology companies, positioning itself as a strategic technology partner to Washington. The task force deepens the security relationship between the two countries but also frames American-developed AI systems as the security standard—rather than allowing allies to rely on Chinese technology. The U.S. and China are racing to develop AI capabilities that could change how wars are fought, from finding targets faster to operating drones and analyzing huge amounts of battlefield data.
SURPRISING FACT
Project Maven, a machine learning initiative launched by the Defense Department in 2017, now uses artificial intelligence to analyze huge amounts of surveillance footage from drones, satellites and other sources and helps military analysts identify objects, vehicles, buildings and other potential targets. CENTCOM has increasingly adopted AI tools to process intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and defense companies are actively developing AI-enabled autonomous systems for the Pentagon that could lead to more unmanned aircraft, autonomous drones and even battlefield robots.
TANGENT
The push to find more military applications for AI software comes as the Pentagon battles with Anthropic over use of its models. Anthropic became an AI partner of the Pentagon last July and agreed to let the military use its Claude model with certain acceptable-use restrictions that prohibited things like mass domestic surveillance of Americans or fully autonomous weapons systems. The Pentagon later pushed for more access, arguing the military should have access to AI systems for any lawful national security purpose while Anthropic stood by its safety rules. President Donald Trump then ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s technology and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic a “supply chain risk,” a move that restricted military contractors from using Claude in Pentagon-related work. Anthropic argued that the designation was retaliation and sued in federal court, where a judge sided with the company. Appeals are ongoing. In May, the Pentagon announced agreements with seven other tech firms, including OpenAI, Alphabet and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to use their AI tools on classified military networks.