TL;DRTrump signed NSPM-11 ordering the military to adopt frontier AI faster, protect models from Chinese distillation, and barring vendors from disabling systems warfighters depend on. Warren is demanding hearings on whether the rush leaves Americans exposed.
President Donald Trump signed National Security Presidential Memorandum 11 on Friday, directing the US military and intelligence agencies to accelerate their adoption of advanced AI while protecting frontier models from theft by foreign adversaries. The directive replaces the Biden administration’s NSM-25, which had governed AI in national security since 2024, and adds a provision that no commercial vendor can disable, degrade, or modify an AI system that American warfighters depend on without prior government approval.
The memo lands in a week already crowded with AI policy moves: a voluntary executive order on frontier model reviews, the announcement that Anthropic is preparing to release Mythos-class models to the general public, and growing pressure from Senator Elizabeth Warren to probe whether the administration’s approach is moving too fast without adequate safeguards.
What NSPM-11 requires
The memo gives agencies 120 days to review and update procurement processes so they can onboard advanced AI models from multiple vendors rapidly. It requires the Secretary of Defense to update the directive governing autonomy in weapon systems within 90 days. It calls on agencies including the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Office of the National Cyber Director to maintain “deep, proactive” partnerships with the AI industry.
