Elon Musk’s Grok AI has become an integral part of America’s war machine, and its data centers must be treated like munitions production plants in future conflicts, according to a sworn declaration by the Pentagon’s artificial intelligence chief.
The statement about Grok was submitted as part of an effort by US President Donald Trump’s administration to intervene in a lawsuit seeking to restrict the operation of xAI’s Colossus data centers in Memphis, Tennessee, over environmental concerns.
Cameron Stanley, the chief digital and artificial intelligence officer at the US Department of War, compared xAI’s computing capacity to weapons manufacturing, saying the company’s ability to operate data facilities “at massive scale” is “as foundational to our modern defense posture as traditional munitions production.”
Stanley revealed that Grok is a crucial part of Palantir-developed Maven Smart Systems (MSS), a platform that supports “targeting, intelligence, readiness, and recruitment,” as well as military planning and logistics.
“MSS frontier workflows enabled US forces to deploy over 2,000 munitions to 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours during Operation Epic Fury,” he said, adding that xAI is one of just three enterprise providers able to sustain “mission-critical operations” across Secret and Top-Secret classified networks. He warned that if xAI’s Colossus 2 facility is shut down or deprived of power, the Pentagon’s capabilities would be impaired.
The reference to the Pentagon’s Project Maven places Grok inside a broader and increasingly controversial AI targeting ecosystem. It began as an algorithmic warfare initiative to help process battlefield data, while Palantir – one of Washington’s most entrenched surveillance and defense contractors – has marketed its software as an “AI-powered kill chain” promising “decision dominance from space to mud.”
The company’s role has drawn renewed scrutiny after reports that AI-assisted targeting contributed to a US strike in Minab that claimed the lives of nearly 160 schoolgirls. The school was reportedly selected based on outdated data processed through Palantir-linked systems incorporating Anthropic’s Claude AI. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said last week that the reported use of AI in the Minab strike did not necessarily violate the company’s “red lines,” stressing that a human made the final decision.
Palantir executives have openly embraced the company’s military mission. CEO Alex Karp said last year that Palantir’s purpose was “to scare enemies, and on occasion, kill them,” while the company’s recent manifesto declared that “hard power in this century will be built on software” and that a new era of deterrence “built on AI” is beginning.
xAI, which developed Grok as a rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, was merged with SpaceX earlier this year. The company’s data centers have also become a major source of compute power for other AI firms, with Google and Anthropic signing multibillion-dollar agreements to rent capacity from Musk’s company.
The NAACP lawsuit alleges that xAI is violating the Clean Air Act by operating dozens of gas-burning turbines without proper permits or pollution controls. Environmental groups have accused the Trump administration of trying to override citizen lawsuits used to enforce pollution laws.
Australian police have begun inquiries into claims that Israeli forces raped, tortured, and abused activists detained during last month’s raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed the move after four women from the Global Sumud Flotilla met Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Multicultural Minister Anne Aly, and senior police officials in Canberra on Monday.
The activists were among 11 Australians detained in May when Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla, which was attempting to break the blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave.
One of the activists, Juliet Lamont, said the officials had taken the allegations seriously, including claims that detainees were kidnapped, tortured, imprisoned, and raped. The AFP said it was handling the matter using a “victim centric, trauma-informed approach.”
Israel has rejected the allegations. Its embassy in Australia said there was “no credible evidence” to support the claims, described the activists as “professional provocateurs,” and said that the accusations had “already been proven to be false.”
The Global Sumud Flotilla has also filed a submission with the International Criminal Court alleging war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, and other violations of international law by Israeli forces.
The Australian inquiry comes amid growing international scrutiny of Israel’s treatment of flotilla detainees. More than 400 activists from around 40 countries were detained when Israeli forces intercepted the vessels in international waters off Cyprus. Former detainees from several countries have alleged beatings, sexual assault, humiliation, and denial of legal access.
The incident drew wider outrage after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir filmed himself taunting activists as they knelt with their hands tied behind their backs.
Australia has condemned Ben-Gvir’s conduct and sanctioned him. France and Italy have also opened legal proceedings over alleged abuse of flotilla detainees, while Canada has called for an independent investigation.
Israel has repeatedly denied mistreating detainees and says that the flotilla missions are political provocations designed to aid Hamas.
