AI AND THE NATIONAL SECURITY

NEWS: The U.S. military has reportedly integrated Anthropic’s Claude AI into its kill chain for real-time target identification and legal approval during strikes in Iran.

ABOUT

National security calculusà Strategic assessment of how AI—a dual-use technology—alters the balance of power between nations

KEY DATA

• In First 24 hours of the 2026 Iran conflictà the U.S. military leveraged AI targeting tools to strike over 1,000 targets, prioritizing them quicker than the speed of thought.
• Anthropic reported 16 million unauthorized exchangesà targeting its Claude model from approximately 24,000 fraudulent accounts linked to Chinese labs.
• India’s information security spendingà Projected to reach $3.4 billion in 2026, an 11.7% increase from 2025
• IndiaAI Missionà India has on-boarded over 38,000 GPUs (targeting 100,000) to provide subsidized compute for national security and innovation.

AI in National Security

• AI-enabled drones and satellite imageryàprovide real-time reconnaissance of difficult terrains.
• Using machine learningà To identify patterns in terrorist communication and movement.
• Protecting critical infrastructure from polymorphic malware and deepfake-enabled fraud.
• Real-time facial recognition and behavioral analytics to maintain order during mass gatherings.
• Streamlining military supply chains and reducing human risk in hazardous zones.

Initiatives Taken So Far

• IndiaAI Mission: A ₹10,372 crore flagship program focused on building sovereign compute, foundation models, and Safe and Trusted AI frameworks.
• BharatGen: The world’s first government-funded multimodal large language model, supporting 22 Indian languages to ensure Cognitive Sovereignty.
• S.-India iCET (initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology): A bilateral partnership to co-develop defense AI and secure semiconductor supply chains.
• India AI Governance Guidelines (2026): A principle-based framework released at the New Delhi Summit to regulate autonomous weapons and surveillance tools.