Pentagon to push AI battlefield integration with focus on Maven

Katrina Manson, Bloomberg News on Mar 21, 2026

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WASHINGTON — The Pentagon intends to accelerate AI-enabled decision-making and put it at the heart of its ambition to link up sensors and shooters for combat operations, according to a policy memo seen by Bloomberg.

Establishing Palantir Technologies Inc.’s Maven Smart System as a so-called program of record “will provide the stable funding and resourcing necessary” for development, integration and for commanders to fight and win wars, Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg said in the memo.

The U.S. military already uses the Maven digital mission control platform in every combatant command, or regional theater. The system provides a digital map display of battlefields, helps identify and select targets and pairs them with weapons systems.

The system, which has also integrated Anthropic’s Claude AI tool, is widely in use in U.S. operations against Iran.

Formalizing Maven Smart System will also enable rigorous testing and evaluation standards and create clear lines of accountability for performance, according to the memo, dated March 9. The U.S. Army will manage all Maven contracts and the department expects to rapidly roll out further access to the system at regional headquarters and on networks, according to the memo.

Maven is intended to become a formal program of record before the Pentagon’s fiscal year ends in September.

Reuters reported earlier on Pentagon plans to establish Maven as a program of record.

(John Harney contributed to this report.)