Pentagon chief unveils AI acceleration strategy

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Monday announced a sweeping push to accelerate the military's use of artificial intelligence.

"Today, at my direction, we're executing an AI acceleration strategy that will extend our lead in military AI established during President (Donald) Trump's first term," Hegseth said at tech billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX facility in Brownsville, Texas during the nationwide Arsenal of Freedom tour.

"This strategy will unleash experimentation, eliminate bureaucratic barriers, focus on investments and demonstrate the execution approach needed to ensure we lead in military AI and that it grows more dominant into the future," he added.

Hegseth emphasized that AI would play a central role across all branches and operational domains of the US military, from planning and logistics to intelligence and combat operations.

"We will win this race by becoming an AI, first warfighting force across all domains," he said.

Underscoring the US' capability to project force globally and deter adversaries such as Iran, Hegseth emphasized that US adversaries had misjudged American strength under the current Trump administration.

"Before this administration, our adversaries may have thought they finally broke American power. They're wrong," Hegseth said.

"They do not have our combat proven operational data from two decades of military and intelligence operations. They do not have our hard won classified technologies ... They don't have a military that can go 37 hours to downtown Tehran or downtown Caracas without being seen in the process," he added.

His remarks came amid tensions in Iran, with Trump saying that he is weighing possible military action against the country. The US president has warned that Tehran is nearing a red line in its response to nationwide protests.