OpenAI Reaches Agreement with U.S. Department of War to Deploy AI on Classified Networks
Original: OpenAI Reaches Agreement with U.S. Department of War to Deploy AI on Classified Networks View original →
Agreement to Deploy AI on Classified Networks
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced on February 28, 2026 via X: "Tonight, we reached an agreement with the Department of War to deploy our models in their classified network." The announcement came hours after the Trump administration banned rival Anthropic from federal systems, making it a pivotal moment in AI's relationship with U.S. defense.
Core AI Safety Principles
Altman emphasized that two of OpenAI's most important safety principles are embedded in the agreement: a prohibition on domestic mass surveillance and the requirement for human responsibility in the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems. The Department of War agreed to these principles and reflected them in law, policy, and the contract itself.
Technical Safeguards and Deployment
OpenAI will build technical safeguards to ensure models behave as intended and will deploy Field Deployment Engineers (FDEs) to support model safety on the ground. All deployment will occur exclusively on cloud networks.
Call for Industry-Wide Standards
Altman urged the Department of War to offer these same terms to all AI companies: "We are asking the DoW to offer these same terms to all AI companies, which in our opinion we think everyone should be willing to accept." This agreement sets a notable precedent for how AI companies can maintain safety principles while partnering with government defense agencies.
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OpenAI’s February 2026 safety report says it banned accounts linked to seven operations originating in China. The company says abuse covered cyber activity, covert influence, and scams, while overall malicious use remained low versus legitimate use.
OpenAI published details of its Department of War agreement on February 28, 2026 and added a clarifying update on March 2. The company says the deal is cloud-only, keeps humans in the loop, forbids domestic surveillance of U.S. persons, and bars autonomous-weapons direction and other high-stakes automated decisions.
OpenAI said on February 28, 2026 that it reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of War to deploy advanced AI systems in classified environments. In a follow-up post, the company said the arrangement uses a multi-layer safety approach and cloud-based deployment with cleared personnel in the loop.