US National Security AI Memo

Overview

The National Security Presidential Memorandum/NSPM-11, titled “Artificial Intelligence in the National Security Enterprise,” was signed by President Donald J. Trump on June 5, 2026. This landmark document establishes a comprehensive framework designed to accelerate the development, adoption, and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) across the United States’ national security apparatus. Recognizing AI as one of the most transformative technologies for national security, NSPM-11 aims to equip American warfighters and intelligence professionals with the most advanced, secure, and reliable AI systems available. It emphasizes a strategic shift towards rapid integration of AI capabilities while ensuring rigorous oversight and adherence to American values. The memorandum explicitly rescinds and replaces the Biden-era National Security Memorandum, NSM-25, signaling a decisive change in posture from a cautious, governance-first approach to one prioritizing the speed of adoption and technological overmatch.

The core purpose of NSPM-11 is to enhance the national security enterprise's ability to leverage AI for critical missions, ranging from protecting warfighters to enabling precise operations that minimize civilian harm. It seeks to streamline the acquisition and deployment of these technologies, build a secure and resilient supply chain, and maintain rigorous oversight throughout the AI lifecycle. The memorandum outlines a policy guided by four key pillars: Adoption, Adaptation, Assurance, and Accountability, which collectively aim to foster innovation, secure AI systems, and ensure ethical and responsible use. This directive underscores the administration's commitment to maintaining U.S. leadership in AI, not only through technological advancement but also through strategic partnerships with industry and robust workforce development initiatives.

Definitions

Section 6 of National Security Presidential Memorandum/NSPM-11 is dedicated to providing essential definitions that ensure a consistent understanding and application of the memorandum's directives across the entire national security enterprise. While the specific list of defined terms is not exhaustively detailed in publicly available summaries, this section is crucial for clarifying the scope and intent of the policy. It is expected to define key concepts such as “Artificial Intelligence system” or “AI system,” specifying what constitutes such a system within the national security context, potentially differentiating between various levels of autonomy or capability. These definitions are vital for agencies to accurately interpret and implement the policy, ensuring uniformity in procurement, deployment, and oversight processes.

Furthermore, the definitions likely encompass terms related to national security applications of AI, operational parameters, and the various components of the AI lifecycle, including development, testing, and deployment. This foundational glossary helps to prevent ambiguity and facilitates effective communication among diverse stakeholders, including government agencies, private sector partners, and academic institutions involved in AI research and development for defense and intelligence purposes. By establishing clear terminology, NSPM-11 aims to build a common understanding that underpins the technical, operational, and ethical considerations central to integrating AI into sensitive national security functions.

Governance and Institutional Framework

The governance and institutional framework established by NSPM-11 is designed to accelerate AI integration while ensuring responsible oversight within the national security enterprise. The memorandum vests authority in the President to direct various executive departments and agencies to implement its provisions. Key roles are assigned to the Secretary of War, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the Director of the National Security Agency (NSA), the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology (APST), and the National Cyber Director. These officials are tasked with developing and updating policies, strategies, and guidance to align with the memorandum's objectives. The framework emphasizes a collaborative, enterprise-wide approach, requiring coordination among these entities and other agencies performing national security functions to ensure consistency and effectiveness in AI adoption and management.

This framework also includes specific directives for interagency cooperation, such as the DNI and the Secretary of War developing an AI for National Security Curriculum in coordination with the OMB Director and Intelligence Community (IC) elements. Similarly, the DNI, Secretary of War, and NSA Director are mandated to develop a joint strategy for AI risk management and assurance. These collaborative efforts are intended to build capacity, standardize practices, and ensure a unified approach to AI across the diverse components of the national security enterprise. The emphasis on updating existing policies, such as DOD Directive 3000.09 on Autonomy in Weapon Systems, further highlights the adaptive nature of this governance structure, designed to evolve with the rapid advancements in AI technology.

Key Focus Areas

NSPM-11 is structured around four foundational pillars that guide the acceleration and responsible use of AI within the national security enterprise: Adoption, Adaptation, Assurance, and Accountability. The Adoption pillar emphasizes the elimination of barriers to the rapid deployment of AI technologies. It directs the national security enterprise to maintain deep, proactive partnerships with industry to ensure the most advanced frontier models are broadly available to national security professionals without delay, fostering rapid experimentation and validation across potential applications. This pillar seeks to ensure technological overmatch by streamlining the process for acquiring and integrating cutting-edge AI.

The Adaptation pillar focuses on leveraging commercial or open-source AI technologies, customizing or internally developing solutions where commercial options fall short, and sharing adapted tools enterprise-wide. This ensures that AI technologies chosen are optimized for their intended use and that the national security enterprise can draw from a diverse range of suppliers. Assurance is a critical pillar, mandating that all adopted AI technologies are designed to be reliable, robust, steerable, and controllable, operating in accordance with applicable laws and government policies. A key aspect is the requirement to prevent any commercial entity or adversary from possessing the capability to prevent use of, disable or degrade, or materially modify an AI system without Federal Government knowledge and approval, particularly for systems critical to American warfighters. Finally, Accountability ensures that AI systems are used responsibly, upholding American values, and preserving the constitutional chain of command. This includes preventing AI from censoring speech, embedding ideological bias, or enabling unauthorized surveillance, with commanders at every level remaining personally accountable for these obligations.

Implementation Framework

The implementation framework outlined in NSPM-11 is highly action-oriented, with specific directives aimed at transforming how AI is integrated across the national security enterprise. A primary focus is on streamlining acquisition processes to enable rapid multi-vendor onboarding, thereby closing the capability gap between public and national security access to frontier AI models. This involves updating existing acquisition policies to facilitate faster procurement and deployment of advanced AI tools. The memorandum also directs the buildout of next-generation, high-security computing facilities to run future AI systems at scale, recognizing the immense computational demands of advanced AI. This includes developing an advanced computing roadmap to ensure access to necessary compute resources, including an AI test range for national security use cases.

Furthermore, the implementation framework places significant emphasis on bolstering the talent pipeline. It calls for the establishment of an AI National Security Strategic Reserve, comprising top non-governmental experts available for federal national security efforts. Alongside this, a comprehensive AI for National Security Curriculum is to be developed and implemented, ensuring that relevant personnel across the national security enterprise are trained to employ AI systems responsibly, understand their capabilities and limitations, and stay abreast of the rapidly evolving AI frontier. These initiatives collectively aim to cultivate a skilled workforce capable of effectively developing, deploying, and managing AI technologies in support of national security missions.

Monitoring and Evaluation

NSPM-11 establishes robust mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation to ensure the continuous effectiveness and responsible evolution of AI within the national security enterprise. The memorandum mandates an annual review of key guidance across the national security enterprise to keep pace with the rapidly advancing AI frontier. This ensures that policies and directives remain relevant and effective in light of new technological developments and emerging threats. Such regular reviews are critical for adapting to the dynamic nature of AI and its implications for national security.

A significant component of the monitoring and evaluation framework is the development of standardized Test, Evaluation, Verification, and Validation (TEVV) methodologies. The Secretary of War, through the NSA Director, and the DNI are directed to submit these methodologies, including for conformity verification and sustainment of high-security AI systems, at appropriate classification levels. These TEVV standards are crucial for assuring that AI technologies adopted are reliable, robust, steerable, and controllable, and that they operate in accordance with applicable laws and policies. The rigorous application of these methodologies will provide a critical layer of assurance regarding the performance and security of AI systems deployed in national security contexts, ensuring they meet stringent operational requirements and ethical standards.

Penalties, Liability, and Appeals

NSPM-11 addresses issues of penalties and liability primarily through its provisions concerning contractual relationships and the chain of command. The memorandum explicitly directs the Secretary of War, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), and the heads of other agencies performing national security functions to terminate contracts with companies that demonstrate a “repeated pattern of conduct” inconsistent with the policy set forth in NSPM-11. This includes instances where commercial entities attempt to prevent the government's use of, disable, degrade, or materially modify an AI system without federal government knowledge and approval, particularly for mission-critical systems. Such contract termination authority serves as a significant enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance from private sector partners. Waivers for such terminations are capped at one year and must be reported to the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology (APST) and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA).

Regarding liability and accountability for the use of AI systems, NSPM-11 reiterates that accountability remains firmly within the constitutional chain of command. Commanders at every level are personally accountable for ensuring that AI is used responsibly and in line with American values, preventing issues such as censorship, ideological bias, or unauthorized surveillance. This emphasis on human accountability underscores the principle that AI systems are tools, and their deployment and outcomes are ultimately the responsibility of human operators and decision-makers within the national security framework. While the memorandum does not detail specific criminal penalties or civil appeals processes for individual AI-related incidents, its focus on contractual enforcement and established command responsibility provides a clear framework for addressing non-compliance and misuse within its scope.

Relationship to Other Instruments

National Security Presidential Memorandum/NSPM-11 significantly redefines the U.S. approach to AI in national security by explicitly rescinding and replacing the Biden-era National Security Memorandum, NSM-25. This replacement signals a clear shift in administrative policy, moving away from what the current administration characterized as an outdated document that burdened American AI adoption with ideological mandates and fostered dangerous single-vendor dependencies. NSPM-11 aims to accelerate AI adoption and streamline processes, contrasting with the perceived cautious governance-first approach of its predecessor.

Furthermore, NSPM-11 operates in conjunction with other recent presidential directives. It complements the Executive Order (EO) on “Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security,” signed on June 2, 2026. While the EO focuses broadly on AI cybersecurity and fostering innovation across government and critical infrastructure, NSPM-11 specifically hones in on the national security enterprise, addressing its unique requirements for rapid AI deployment, assurance, and adaptation. Together, these two directives represent a coordinated effort to both secure AI systems and accelerate their integration, albeit with NSPM-11 emphasizing speed of adoption within defense and intelligence functions. This integrated approach reflects the administration's comprehensive strategy to maintain U.S. leadership in AI technology and its application.

International Alignment

NSPM-11, while primarily focused on domestic national security capabilities, inherently positions the United States within the global landscape of AI development and military application. The memorandum's core objective to accelerate the development and use of AI for national security applications is a direct reflection of the broader strategic imperative to maintain U.S. technological dominance and overmatch against global competitors. By ensuring that American warfighters and intelligence professionals are equipped with the most sophisticated and secure AI technologies, the U.S. aims to solidify its position as the world leader in artificial intelligence. This pursuit of technological superiority is a key component of the nation's international posture, influencing alliances, partnerships, and competitive dynamics with other major powers.

The emphasis on securing America's cutting-edge AI against global threats and protecting American ingenuity and intellectual property from exploitation by adversaries underscores an implicit international alignment strategy. This involves not only internal security measures but also the potential for partnerships with willing private-sector companies and international allies who share similar security concerns and values. While the memorandum does not explicitly detail international cooperation agreements or mutual recognition frameworks, its overarching goal of driving American AI dominance in national security contexts contributes to shaping global norms and standards for AI use in defense. The U.S. seeks to responsibly accelerate AI use across intelligence and warfighting domains in line with American values, thereby influencing the broader international discourse on ethical and secure AI deployment.

Implementation Timeline

Sources and References