Elon Musk’s AI tool Grok was employed by the US military in strikes against Iran, according to a legal briefing filed by the US Department of Justice on June 15, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4]. The AI was deployed within Project Maven, the Pentagon’s AI-assisted targeting program that was initially powered by Anthropic’s Claude model [1, 2, 3, 4].
Project Maven’s Smart Systems enabled US forces to deliver over 2,000 munitions to 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours during the recent Operation Epic Fury [1, 2, 3, 4]. Pentagon AI chief Cameron Stanley praised Grok’s capabilities, saying the Grok Gov Model “greatly increased operational efficiency” [1].
In February 2026, the US government ended its contracts with Anthropic after the company refused to permit fully automated strikes or mass surveillance on American citizens [1, 2, 3, 4]. Following this, the Pentagon turned to other AI providers, including Google, OpenAI, and Elon Musk’s xAI [1, 2, 3, 4]. Despite ending the contract, Anthropic’s Claude model was still utilized in the Iran war as of March 2026, highlighting a slow transition to new suppliers [1, 2, 3, 4].
Elon Musk merged xAI into his space company SpaceX in February 2026, shortly before SpaceX staged the largest initial public offering in history on June 12, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4]. Meanwhile, the NAACP filed a lawsuit against xAI, accusing it of operating dozens of gas turbines without permits and polluting majority-Black neighborhoods, which xAI contests by calling the turbines temporary and mobile [1, 2, 3, 4]. The Department of Justice defended xAI in the legal filing, saying the lawsuit “threatens American national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War’s military operations” [1].
At Google, over 600 employees demanded that the company refrain from supplying AI for classified military operations [1, 3].
The DOJ legal briefing on June 15 provided the most detailed public disclosure of Grok’s role in recent US military actions. The next scheduled key event is the continued legal process concerning the NAACP’s lawsuit against xAI.
