Opinion

Pentagon’s AI battle will help decide who controls our most powerful military tech

Pentagon demands access to Claude AI model without restrictions on autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance capabilities

By Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis, (ret.) Fox News

Published March 5, 2026 9:00am EST

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I spent decades inside the Pentagon watching technology reshape warfare. I saw precision munitions change the battlefield. I watched satellites compress decision cycles. But nothing compares to what is happening now.

Artificial intelligence has moved the lab to the kill chain.

And the showdown between Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and AI firm Anthropic is not a contract dispute. It is the opening battle over who controls the most powerful military technology of the 21st century.

AI is already transforming war

Look at Ukraine.

Anthropic leadership refused demands from the Department of War to use its artificial intelligence for "all lawful purposes" after the Maduro raid. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters:AHIKAM SERI/AFP via Getty Images)

Western officials report that drones now account for roughly 70-80% of battlefield casualties in that war. But the real revolution occurs when AI is added. Reports indicate AI-guided navigation can increase drone strike accuracy from 10–20% to as high as 70–80%.

That is not incremental change. That is a transformation in battlefield lethality.

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The same dynamic is emerging in U.S. operations involving Iran and other theaters. AI tools are being used for intelligence analysis, targeting refinement, pattern recognition, and operational simulations. These systems compress time, reduce uncertainty and accelerate decisions.

AI is not theoretical. It is operational.

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Which brings us to Washington.

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What the Hegseth–Anthropic standoff is really about

On Feb. 27, Hegseth designated Anthropic a "supply chain risk to national security." President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to cease using its Claude AI model after Anthropic refused to remove two guardrails:

A........

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