📅 Issue #001 · Wednesday, April 29, 2026
🔍 LEAD STORY
The Pentagon Just Opened Its Classified Networks to 7 AI Companies
The Pentagon announced today it has reached agreements with seven AI companies, SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, NVIDIA, Reflection, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services, to deploy their capabilities directly onto the Department of Defense's most classified networks. Reuters
This is a big deal. The military's most sensitive systems, the ones processing intelligence at the highest classification levels, are now being opened to commercial AI. The Pentagon is making a deliberate bet that commercial AI can outpace what government labs build on their own.
The announcement also came with a notable absence. Anthropic, the maker of Claude, was not selected, the company remains in a dispute with the DoD after refusing to ease safeguards related to the use of its models in military surveillance and autonomous weapons systems. The Pentagon previously labeled Anthropic a supply chain risk, though that designation may be softening. Defense Post
The bottom line: the race to integrate AI into the military is no longer theoretical. It's happening at the classification levels that matter most.
⚡ QUICK HITS
The Pentagon is requesting $54.6 billion for its Defense Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG) in FY2027, a 24,070% increase over this year's allocation, focused on autonomous drones, AI combat systems, and rapid innovation cycles. Breaking Defense
Anduril and Palantir are collaborating to build the software core of Golden Dome, Trump's $185 billion missile defense shield, their system will connect radar sensors to interceptor weapons and allow operators to control the response. Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are also involved as prime contractors. Jerusalem Post
Google withdrew from a Pentagon competition to develop voice-controlled drone swarm technology worth up to $100 million, citing an internal ethics review and employee concerns about AI being used in military surveillance without meaningful human oversight. The contrast with OpenAI — which just signed onto classified Pentagon networks, could not be starker. Defense Post
🏭 COMPANY WATCH: Anduril Industries
Anduril is the company to understand right now. Founded in 2017, the company reported 2024 revenues of roughly $1 billion — a figure that roughly doubled year over year — and management is targeting another doubling to $2 billion by end of 2026. Anduril is currently raising up to $8 billion at a valuation of approximately $60 billion, making it one of the most valuable private companies in America. They build autonomous drones, counter-drone systems, and battlefield AI — and they just landed a central role in Golden Dome. This is the company that is redefining what a defense contractor looks like. Aviation Outlook
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