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Civil AI laws stop at the barracks gate: the EU AI Act and the Council of Europe’s AI convention both exclude military and national-defence use. What governs AI in armed forces is a patchwork of national directives, alliance principles, non-binding declarations and a decade-old UN negotiation that has not produced a treaty. This page maps it.
In brief
Five things to know
01 · Treaty
No treaty yet
The UN Secretary-General and the ICRC asked states in 2023 to conclude a binding instrument on autonomous weapons by 2026. The CCW expert group’s final session ended in the early hours of Sep 05, 2026 with an adopted, non-binding final report and no treaty; the text goes to the CCW Review Conference in November 2026. [1][2][3][64]
02 · Votes
Broad votes, narrow commitments
164 states voted for the 2025 UN General Assembly resolution on lethal autonomous weapons (Res. 80/57; 156 had backed it in committee). But only 35 of 85 states at the 2026 REAIM summit signed its declaration at the time (organisers later said more than 40), and the US and China both stayed out. [65][5][9][10]
03 · Control
“Human control” is the shared word, not a shared rule
Nearly every text says humans stay responsible; they differ on how much control, and whether existing law is enough. The US, Russia and India prefer non-binding or consensus outcomes; the African Group and 47 states led by Brazil call the elements text a basis for negotiation. [3][4][6]
04 · United States
The US is accelerating
A Jan 09, 2026 memo made the department “AI-first” and required “any lawful use” terms in AI contracts; NSPM-11 (Jun 05, 2026) ordered DoD Directive 3000.09 on autonomous weapons rewritten; a Sep 30, 2026 memo plans an Autonomous Warfare Command by Oct 01, 2027. [23][26][29]
05 · Vendors
Vendors are now part of the governance
When Anthropic refused to drop limits on fully autonomous weapons and domestic mass surveillance, the Pentagon designated it a supply-chain risk. Courts have split. In 2025, Microsoft cut an Israeli military unit’s access to some cloud and AI services. [24][25][53]
Disclosure. Anthropic makes Claude, a tool this site uses and a vendor whose models this program measures. The entries on its dispute are reported here like any other, from the sources cited; see Independence.
Global and regional
The rules above the nations
Red: binding, but military use is carved out. Amber: still being negotiated. Grey: not binding.
CCW Group of Governmental Experts on lethal autonomous weapons (since 2017)Talks · no treatyWorks by consensus on a “rolling text” of elements for an instrument, first tabled Jul 2024. Sessions Mar 02, 2026 to Mar 06, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026 to Sep 04, 2026; the last ended in the early hours of Sep 05 with an adopted, non-binding final report. Report to the Seventh Review Conference, Nov 2026. More than 70 states support the text as a basis for negotiation. [2][3][4][6][64]
UN General Assembly resolutions on autonomous weaponsNon-binding78/241 (Dec 2023), 79/62 (Dec 2024) and 80/57 (Dec 01, 2025), the third in a row. 80/57 urges the CCW to complete the elements “with a view to future negotiation”; it passed 164–6–7 in the General Assembly, after 156 votes for it in the First Committee. [65][5][7]
UN Secretary-General and ICRC joint appeal (Oct 2023)AppealCalls for prohibitions and restrictions in a binding treaty concluded by 2026; repeated by the Secretary-General in 2025. [1][7]
REAIM summits (Responsible AI in the Military Domain)Non-bindingThe Hague 2023 (call to action); Seoul 2024 (Blueprint for Action, about 60 endorsers; China did not sign); A Coruña, Spain, Feb 2026 (“Pathways to Action,” 20 principles; 35 of 85 attendees at signing, organisers later said 40+; the US and China opted out). [9][10][11]
US Political Declaration on Responsible Military Use of AI and Autonomy (2023)Non-bindingAnnounced Feb 2023; 31 endorsers by Nov 2023, 53 by Mar 2024. China, Russia, India, Israel, Brazil and Saudi Arabia had not endorsed as of 2024. No 2026 count found. [12][13]
US–China leaders’ statement, Lima, Nov 16, 2024Non-bindingBiden and Xi affirm “the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons.” First such statement by China; narrow. [14][15][16]
NATO AI Strategy (Oct 2021; revised Jul 10, 2024)Alliance principlesSix Principles of Responsible Use: lawfulness, responsibility and accountability, explainability and traceability, reliability, governability, bias mitigation. The 2024 revision adds AI-enabled disinformation as a concern. [17][18]
EU AI Act, Art. 2(3)Law · excludes militaryDoes not apply to AI used “exclusively for military, defence or national security purposes,” grounded in Art. 4(2) TEU. Dual-use systems placed on the civil market are still covered. [19][20]
Council of Europe Framework Convention on AI (opened Sep 05, 2024)Treaty · excludes defenceExcludes national defence and limits coverage of national-security activity (Art. 3). Signed by the EU, the US and the UK on the first day. [21][22]
How many states sign on
UNGA 80/57, plenary164
80/57, First Committee156
US Political Declaration53
REAIM 2026, at signing35
States backing each text, on a scale of the 193 UN member states. Votes: Dec 01, 2025 [65] and Nov 06, 2025 [5]; endorsements as of Mar 2024 [13] and Feb 2026 [9]. A vote for a resolution and an endorsement of a declaration are different acts; the bars count states, not commitments.
A memo plans a four-star Autonomous Warfare Command.Source [29]
Sep 25, 2026
The D.C. Circuit, 2–1, upholds the designation. Courts have split.Source [25]
Aug 27, 2026
The same California court vacates the designation as retaliation in violation of the First Amendment.Source [25][34]
Jun 05, 2026
NSPM-11, Artificial Intelligence in the National Security Enterprise, replaces the 2024 national security memorandum (NSM-25), orders 3000.09 rewritten within 90 days, and bars vendors from disabling, degrading or modifying a system warfighters depend on without government approval. Senators questioned the pace.Source [31][32][36][27][28]
Mar 26, 2026
A federal judge in California preliminarily enjoins the designation.Source [35]
Feb 27, 2026
The President directs agencies to stop using Anthropic’s models and the Secretary designates the company a supply-chain risk (letters dated Mar 03).Source [24]
Jan 09, 2026
The Secretary directs an “AI-first” force, “any lawful use” contract terms within 180 days, and reorganises the AI and technology hubs.Source [23]
Jan 2023
DoD Directive 3000.09 updated: senior review and testing before an autonomous weapon is fielded.Source [26]
Oversight. The FY2026 NDAA (Sec. 1061, now 10 U.S.C. 130g) requires notice to Congress within 30 days of any waiver of 3000.09. The Congressional Research Service notes no frontier model is publicly known to be used in US autonomous weapons. [30][66][33]
Diplomacy. Sponsor of the 2023 Political Declaration (no 2026 statement on it found); signed the 2024 Seoul Blueprint; declined the 2026 A Coruña declaration; at the UN in Sep 2026, rejected “a globalist scheme of control” for AI. [10][12]SI page
A contractor: Palantir Technologies
Palantir Technologies, through its subsidiary Palantir USG Inc., holds a run of US Army and Pentagon awards for AI-enabled software: the TITAN ground station, the Maven Smart System and an Army-wide enterprise agreement. The dollar figures are ceilings, the most the government may spend, and the Army says its $10 billion agreement is not a commitment to spend it. [70]
Sep 22, 2026
James Mazol, deputy under secretary of defense for research and engineering, says more than 100,000 people use the Maven Smart System, up from about 50,000 in January.Source [73]
Aug 2026
Reported: a draft memo would buy up to $243.9 million of Palantir services through March 2027 without competition. Whether the deal was finalized was not confirmed.Source [72]
Aug 2026
The Pentagon names an Army colonel as Maven Smart System program director in the Chief Digital and AI Office.Source [75]
May 2026
The Pentagon’s 2027 budget request asks for more than $1.5 billion to widen access to the Maven Smart System.Source [74]
Mar 09, 2026
A memo from Deputy Secretary Feinberg directs that Maven become a program of record by the end of fiscal 2026, with oversight moving from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to the Chief Digital and AI Office.Source [71]
Jul 31, 2025
The Army awards an enterprise agreement of up to ten years, worth up to $10 billion, folding 75 contracts (15 prime, 60 related) into one.Source [70]
May 20, 2025
A $795 million modification for Maven Smart System software licenses raises the contract ceiling to $1.275 billion.Source [69]
May 29, 2024
The Army awards a $480 million firm-fixed-price contract for the Maven Smart System prototype (W911QX-24-D-0012), estimated to run to May 28, 2029.Source [68]
Mar 2024
The Army awards about $178.4 million for phase 3 of TITAN, a ground station that uses AI and machine learning to pull targeting data from space, air and ground sensors: ten prototypes.Source [67]
Army enterprise agreement, Jul 2025$10B
Maven, after the May 2025 change$1.275B
Maven prototype, May 2024$480M
TITAN phase 3, Mar 2024$178.4M
The most each award allows, on a scale of $10 billion. Ceilings, not money spent: the Army calls the $10 billion a maximum, not a commitment, and the enterprise agreement absorbs earlier contracts rather than adding all of its value as new work. Sources: [67][68][69][70].
Opened. Every page cited for this entry was opened and read on Oct 13, 2026, and the lines were checked against them the same day; see Limits below and Corrections + changes.
China
Doctrine aims at “intelligentized” warfare (智能化), the stage after “informatized”; the 2017 national AI plan calls for AI in command decision-making and equipment. No public PLA policy on military AI ethics has been found. [38][39]
Submitted position papers on military AI to the CCW (2018, 2021). Has proposed separating “unacceptable” from “acceptable” autonomous weapons, a position analysts call “human oversight with Chinese characteristics.” [8][40]
Agreed human control over nuclear-use decisions with the US (2024); did not sign the Seoul Blueprint (2024) or the A Coruña declaration (2026). [9][14]
Russia
Announced a Concept for developing and using AI-based weapons in its Armed Forces in 2022. Holds that international humanitarian law applies fully and needs no new instrument; wants the issue kept in the CCW, not moved to the UN General Assembly. [41][42][43]
Held military-AI consultations with China in Feb 2024 and reported aligned positions on the CCW process. [44]
United Kingdom
Defence AI Strategy and the “Ambitious, Safe, Responsible” policy (Jun 2022) created the Defence AI Centre. JSP 936, Dependable AI in Defence (Nov 2024), is the binding directive: governance, development and assurance across the AI lifecycle, with a Responsible AI Senior Officer in each component. [45][46][47][48]
Strategic Defence Review (Jun 02, 2025): AI and software for a “10x more lethal” Army, land drone swarms, at least 10% of equipment procurement on new technology each year. [49]
France
Created the Ministerial Agency for Defence AI (AMIAD) on May 01, 2024. Airbus agreed a €50 million contract (Dec 10, 2025) to put AMIAD-developed AI into French weapons and information systems, starting with the Spationav maritime-surveillance system. [50][51]
Opposes treating lethal autonomous weapons as the sole focus of AI talks and has rejected immediate negotiations on them alone. [52]
Israel
Reporting since 2024 describes AI target-recommendation systems (“The Gospel,” “Lavender”) used in Gaza. An AP investigation reported Azure-hosted surveillance data cross-checked with in-house AI for targeting. In Sep 2025 Microsoft found evidence supporting elements of the reporting and disabled some services to a unit of Israel’s Ministry of Defence. [53][54][55]
Had not endorsed the US Political Declaration as of 2024. [13]
Ukraine
The most extensive battlefield use. Drones lock onto a target and fly the last few hundred metres autonomously; the Brave1 cluster has backed 200+ AI projects. Analysts found no use of fully autonomous AI drones at scale as of mid-2025, and human-in-the-loop remains the norm. [56][57][58]
Others
India. Defence AI Council and Defence AI Project Agency (2019). Did not sign the 2024 Seoul Blueprint; had not endorsed the US Political Declaration as of 2024. [13][59][60]
Japan, Australia, South Korea. Signed the Seoul Blueprint; South Korea hosted the 2024 summit. A 2024 trilateral study proposes a shared AI capability framework with the US. Australia relies on a technical method (MEAID) rather than a defence AI law. [60][61]
Netherlands. Hosted the first REAIM summit (2023); its disarmament ambassador chaired the CCW expert group in 2024. [6][11]
Germany. Works with the defence-AI firm Helsing to upgrade existing platforms; no 2025–2026 national position paper was found. [62]
Canada. Published a Department of National Defence and Armed Forces AI strategy. [63]
What it asks to be measured
Where testing enters
Most of these texts turn on testing: 3000.09 requires verification, validation, test and evaluation before fielding; JSP 936 requires assurance across the lifecycle; NATO lists reliability and traceability as principles; NSPM-11 makes “assurance” one of four pillars. None publishes a common test, a pass mark, or how many systems were reviewed. The DoD has not reported how many autonomous weapons it has reviewed under 3000.09. [26][27][32][17][47][37]
Instrument
Requires testing or assurance
Publishes a common test
Publishes a pass mark
Reports how many systems were reviewed
DoD Directive 3000.09
Yes
No
No
No
UK JSP 936
Yes
No
No
No
NATO Principles of Responsible Use
Yes
No
No
No
NSPM-11
Yes
No
No
No
Our reading, not a finding. The open question for evaluators is the same as in civil AI: who checks, against what, and who sees the result. On the public record, our reading is that in defence the answer is mostly the ministry, against its own criteria, in private. That is a judgement, not a finding.
United Nations, Secretary-General and ICRC President joint appeal on autonomous weapons, Oct 2023. news.un.org · Secretary-General’s 2025 message: press.un.org
UNODA, CCW GGE on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (2026), meeting page. meetings.unoda.org · Rolling text, Dec 18, 2025: PDF · Draft report CRP.1/Rev.1, Sep 03, 2026: PDF
Davis Vanguard, “UN Discussions Conclude without Binding Treaty on Autonomous Weapons,” Sep 2026. davisvanguard.org
Automated Research, “Over 70 states now support elements work at CCW GGE as a basis for negotiations.” automatedresearch.org
Stop Killer Robots, “156 states support UNGA resolution on autonomous weapons.” stopkillerrobots.org
Digital Watch, “GGE on lethal autonomous weapons systems.” dig.watch · Wikipedia, GGE on LAWS
UN General Assembly document, Dec 2024 (resolution on lethal autonomous weapons systems). documents.un.org · UK Stop Killer Robots, “Human control is hanging by a thread,” Sep 01, 2026: ukstopkillerrobots.org.uk · APILS, “Crunch Time for the Discussion About Autonomous Weapons,” Aug 27, 2026: apils.org
Lieber Institute, West Point, “Human Oversight with Chinese Characteristics: Lethal Autonomous Weapons in the CCW GGE.” lieber.westpoint.edu
Wikipedia, “Summit on Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain.” wikipedia.org · Canada, Minister of National Defence remarks at REAIM 2024: canada.ca
US Department of State, “Political Declaration on Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy.” state.gov
Fox News, “US holds conference on military AI use with dozens of allies,” Mar 2024. foxnews.com · Lawfare, “Making Unilateral Norms for Military AI Multilateral”: lawfaremedia.org
The White House (archived), Readout of President Biden’s meeting with President Xi, Nov 16, 2024. bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov
NPR, “Biden and Xi take a first step to limit AI and nuclear decisions,” Nov 16, 2024. npr.org
Lawfare, “Too Much Too Soon: China, the U.S., and Autonomy in Nuclear Command and Control.” lawfaremedia.org
NATO, “Summary of the NATO Artificial Intelligence Strategy,” Oct 22, 2021. nato.int · Autonomy Implementation Plan: nato.int (Oct 13, 2022)
European Commission AI Act Service Desk, Article 2. ec.europa.eu
Futurium (European AI Alliance), “Challenges of Governing AI for Military Purposes and Spill-Over Effects of the AI Act.” futurium.ec.europa.eu
EUR-Lex, Council Decision (EU) 2024/2218 on signing the Council of Europe Framework Convention. eur-lex.europa.eu
The Hindu, “An overview of Europe’s AI convention,” May 27, 2024. pressreader.com
United States
DefenseScoop, “‘Accelerate like hell’: Hegseth moves to reshape DOD’s AI and tech hubs,” Jan 13, 2026. defensescoop.com · Holland & Knight, “Department of War’s AI-First Agenda,” Feb 2026: hklaw.com
NPR, “Pentagon labels AI company Anthropic a supply chain risk,” Mar 06, 2026. npr.org · Mayer Brown: mayerbrown.com
CNBC, “Judge blocks Pentagon blacklist of Anthropic as supply chain risk,” Aug 28, 2026. cnbc.com · ABC News, “Federal appeals court upholds Pentagon designation”: abcnews.com
Wikipedia, “Department of Defense Directive 3000.09.” wikipedia.org
The White House, NSPM-11, “Artificial Intelligence in the National Security Enterprise,” Jun 05, 2026 (as reproduced by GlobalSecurity.org). globalsecurity.org
Small Wars Journal, “Speed Over Caution: What NSPM-11 Means,” Jun 08, 2026. smallwarsjournal.com · Benton Institute: benton.org
Congressional Research Service, “Pentagon-Anthropic Dispute over Autonomous Weapon Systems: Potential Issues for Congress” (IN12669). congress.gov
TechCrunch, “Anthropic gets its first court win over the Pentagon’s supply-chain risk label,” Aug 28, 2026. techcrunch.com · Lawfare, “Military AI Policy by Contract: The Limits of Procurement as Governance”: lawfaremedia.org · Sen. Warren, letter on AI contracts, Jul 2026: warren.senate.gov
The Next Web, “Trump signs NSPM-11 to rush AI into military, block China.” thenextweb.com
Cloud Security Alliance, “Pentagon vs. Anthropic: Autonomous Weapons AI Guardrails and the Governance Crisis for Enterprise AI Vendors.” cloudsecurityalliance.org
Other nations
Brookings (E. Kania), “AI weapons” in China’s military innovation, Apr 2020. brookings.edu
Council on Foreign Relations, “DoD’s 2021 China Military Power Report: how advances in AI and emerging technologies will shape …” cfr.org · Frontiers in Big Data (2022): frontiersin.org
China Tech Dispatch, “China’s Proposal at UN to Regulate Military AI.” Substack
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement (via GlobalSecurity.org), Nov 2022. globalsecurity.org
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement, Oct 2025. globalsecurity.org
Russian Federation working paper to the CCW GGE, 2021. documents.un.org · CNA, “Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy in Russia”: dtic.mil
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on consultations with China, Feb 2024. globalsecurity.org
UK Ministry of Defence, “Defence Artificial Intelligence Strategy,” Jun 2022. gov.uk
UK Ministry of Defence, “Ambitious, safe, responsible: our approach to the delivery of AI-enabled capability in Defence.” gov.uk
UK Ministry of Defence, “JSP 936: Dependable Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Defence, Part 1: Directive,” Nov 2024. gov.uk
UK Ministry of Defence, “Laying the groundwork: Responsible AI Senior Officers’ report 2025.” gov.uk
UK Ministry of Defence, “The Strategic Defence Review 2025,” two-page summary, Jun 2025. gov.uk
Assemblée nationale, Defence Committee hearing of AMIAD’s head, Jan 2025. assemblee-nationale.fr
Reuters via MarketScreener, “Airbus wins €50 million contract to deploy French military AI.” marketscreener.com
Assemblée nationale, written question and government answer on lethal autonomous weapons. assemblee-nationale.fr
NBC News, “Microsoft cuts off Israeli military unit’s access to cloud service after investigating claims of mass surveillance,” Sep 2025. nbcnews.com
Al Jazeera, “Microsoft cuts Israeli military’s access to some cloud computing, AI,” Sep 26, 2025. aljazeera.com · CBC: cbc.ca
R. McBeth, “Israel’s Lavender System, AI Targeting and Battlefield Informatics.” Substack
IEEE Spectrum, “The Coming Drone-War Inflection in Ukraine.” spectrum.ieee.org
AOL (AP), “The AI drone revolution isn’t here yet, but Ukraine and Russia are laying the groundwork in battle.” aol.com
Canada, Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces AI Strategy. canada.ca
Added in the Oct 09, 2026 check
Human Rights Watch, “UN Talks on Killer Robots End with Calls for Negotiations Growing,” Sep 07, 2026. hrw.org
United Nations Digital Library, A/RES/80/57, “Lethal autonomous weapons systems,” adopted Dec 01, 2025, 164–6–7. digitallibrary.un.org · vote by state: un-project.org
10 U.S.C. 130g, notice to Congress of waivers of DoD Directive 3000.09, added by Pub. L. 119-60, Sec. 1061 (Dec 18, 2025). law.cornell.edu
Added in the Oct 13, 2026 draft: Palantir
US Army, “Army Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN) Ground Station Prototype - Award,” Mar 06, 2024. army.mil · GovCon Wire, “Palantir Secures $178M Army Contract to Build Next-Gen Intelligence Ground Station,” Mar 2024. govconwire.com
US Department of Defense, Contracts, May 2024, Palantir USG Inc., W911QX-24-D-0012 (as reposted by GlobalSecurity.org). globalsecurity.org · contract record: highergov.com
US Department of Defense, Contracts, May 2025, modification P00005 to W911QX-24-D-0012 (as reposted by GlobalSecurity.org). globalsecurity.org · contract record, ceiling $1,275,000,000: highergov.com · DefenseScoop, May 23, 2025: defensescoop.com
US Army, “U.S. Army Awards Enterprise Service Agreement to Enhance Military Readiness and Drive Operational Efficiency,” Jul 31, 2025. army.mil · DefenseScoop, Jul 31, 2025: defensescoop.com
DefenseScoop, “Feinberg’s new Maven directive sets AI-enabled decision-making as ‘the cornerstone’ for CJADC2,” Apr 03, 2026. defensescoop.com · “DOD components face ‘aggressive’ timeline for Maven Smart System transition,” Apr 15, 2026: defensescoop.com
The Register, “Palantir could receive $244M Pentagon no-bid contract,” Aug 11, 2026. theregister.com · Federal News Network, Aug 2026: federalnewsnetwork.com
DefenseScoop, “More than 100K personnel use Maven Smart System: Pentagon official,” Sep 22, 2026. defensescoop.com
DefenseScoop, “DOD wants more than $2B in fiscal 2027 to move beyond ‘fragmented’ CJADC2 deployments,” May 28, 2026. defensescoop.com
DefenseScoop, “Pentagon appoints new Maven Smart System program director in fresh push for C2 integration,” Aug 05, 2026. defensescoop.com
Limits. Sources were found by web search on Oct 09, 2026; our fetcher could not open most of them, so each line rests on the search result and its quoted text, not a full read. Endorsement counts differ between organisers and press (REAIM 2026: 35 at signing, 40+ later); both are given. Whether the CCW expert group adopted its final report by consensus, and whether a revised Directive 3000.09 has been issued, were not confirmed. No 2025–2026 official defence-AI texts were retrieved for India, Japan, South Korea or Germany. The Palantir entry (sources 67 to 75) was found by web search on Oct 13, 2026; every page cited in sources 67 to 75 was opened and read in a browser on Oct 13, 2026. The Pentagon’s own contract notices are cited through GlobalSecurity.org reposts because the defense.gov pages were not reached. Not confirmed: whether the Aug 2026 draft memo became a signed-off deal, and whether Maven became a program of record by the end of fiscal 2026. The 2027 budget request is given as the “more than $1.5 billion” for Maven reported from the budget documents [74]; a $2.3 billion figure in other reports also covers a second program, the Joint Fires Network, and is left out.
Cite. Protocol STAMP, “Militaries and AI: how armed forces govern AI, country by country,” last checked Oct 09, 2026, https://protocolstamp.com/military/.