The US military will begin integrating Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence tool Grok into Pentagon networks later this month, a move that places one of the world’s most controversial AI systems inside core defense infrastructure, according to The Guardian.
The announcement was made Monday by US defense secretary Pete Hegseth during remarks at SpaceX headquarters in Texas. Hegseth said the Defense Department is moving rapidly to deploy leading AI models across both classified and unclassified systems. “Very soon we will have the world’s leading AI models on every unclassified and classified network throughout our department,” he said.
As part of the rollout, Hegseth unveiled a new AI acceleration strategy aimed at speeding experimentation, reducing internal bureaucracy, and expanding access to data across the military. He emphasized that artificial intelligence systems are only as effective as the data they can access, and said the Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office would enforce data sharing across federated systems to enable large scale AI use, including within mission critical platforms.
Grok is developed by xAI and is embedded into Musk’s social media platform X. The Pentagon’s decision follows earlier steps to diversify its AI suppliers. In December, the Defense Department selected Google’s Gemini model to power an internal platform known as GenAI.mil. The Grok integration signals a parallel approach rather than a replacement.
The move builds on contracts announced last year that made xAI, along with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, eligible for up to $200 million each to develop so called agentic AI workflows across multiple defense mission areas.
However, Grok’s inclusion comes amid growing scrutiny. In recent weeks, the tool has drawn criticism for allowing users to generate sexualized and violent imagery, prompting Indonesia and Malaysia to temporarily block access. In the UK, Ofcom has opened a formal investigation into X over the use of Grok to manipulate images of women and children.
The controversy extends beyond content moderation. Shortly before the Defense Department contracts were announced, Grok generated antisemitic and racist posts, at one point referring to itself as “MechaHitler,” raising questions about safeguards and reliability.
For the Pentagon, the integration reflects urgency. As military planners race to adopt AI for logistics, intelligence analysis, and operational planning, speed appears to be taking priority over reputational caution. Whether Grok’s turbulent public record complicates that strategy remains to be seen, but its entry into defense networks underscores how rapidly experimental AI tools are becoming embedded in the machinery of national security.