The United States (US) government has confirmed that Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence tool Grok was used in military strikes against Iran, disclosed in a legal briefing on 15 June.
The briefing, filed in federal court, defends gas turbines powering a major xAI data centre that is facing an environmental lawsuit brought by a civil rights organisation.
The US Department of Justice argued the lawsuit threatens American national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off power supporting military AI operations.
“Maven Smart Systems enabled US forces to deploy over 2,000 munitions to 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours during Operation Epic Fury, “Pentagon AI chief Cameron Stanley said.
Pentagon AI chief Cameron Stanley testified under oath that Grok is integrated into Project Maven, the US military’s AI-assisted targeting programme formerly powered by Anthropic’s Claude model.
Stanley’s sworn statement confirmed that Maven Smart Systems, or MSS, deployed over 2,000 munitions against 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours during Operation Epic Fury.
He praised the greatly increased operational efficiency made possible by the Grok Gov Model, underlining the tool’s role in transforming the military’s targeting capabilities significantly.
The NAACP civil rights organisation filed suit against xAI, accusing it of operating dozens of gas turbines without permits, in violation of the Clean Air Act provisions.
The rights group alleges the turbines pollute majority Black neighbourhoods, while xAI maintains the turbines are temporary and mobile, making them exempt from environmental regulations entirely.
In February, the US government terminated its contracts with Anthropic after the firm refused to allow its tools to be used for fully automated strikes or mass surveillance.
The Pentagon subsequently expanded AI contracts with Anthropic’s competitors, including Google, OpenAI, and xAI, to continue its pursuit of advanced artificial intelligence for military operations.
More than 600 Google employees demanded the company not supply AI for classified military operations, citing broad concerns about artificial intelligence use in lethal decision-making contexts.
In March, the government acknowledged Claude was still being used in the Iran conflict, reflecting the slow pace of the US military’s full transition to newer AI systems.
Musk merged xAI into SpaceX in February; SpaceX subsequently completed the largest initial public offering in history on 12 June, raising billions in fresh capital globally.
