Pentagon Official Warns AI Will ‘Revolutionize Warfare’—But Challenges Remain

AI in Warfare: A ‘Revolutionary’ Shift, Pentagon Official Says

Advanced artificial intelligence models will "fundamentally change warfare as we know it," a senior cyber official at the U.S. Defense Department warned on Thursday, May 15, 2025.

Paul Lyons, principal deputy assistant secretary for cyber policy, described the rise of frontier AI models—such as Mythos—as a "watershed moment" during a speech at Rubrik’s Federal Cyber Resilience Breakfast, an event produced by FedScoop.

"This is not evolutionary warfare, but revolutionary warfare."

Lyons emphasized that AI will alter both offensive and defensive cyber postures within the Department of Defense, particularly for critical infrastructure. He noted that AI enables faster detection and response across domains, including dependencies in water, power, and computing.

Opportunities and Challenges for the U.S.

The Pentagon is facing difficult questions as AI reshapes cyber warfare, but Lyons stressed that the technology presents a major opportunity for the United States—especially since it is being developed by American companies. The department remains optimistic about AI’s potential, he said.

"To be blunt, we’re trying to figure out: What authorities do we need? How do you leverage that within both decision-making and employment? We have the right people looking at the speed, scale, and complexity of cyber and how it’s going to be affected through the advent of AI."

Mythos and Supply Chain Risks

The Pentagon previously labeled Mythos—an AI model developed by Anthropic—as a "supply chain risk" after Anthropic refused to comply with the department’s requests to restrict certain uses of its Claude model. Despite this, the Pentagon has continued using Mythos to identify cyber vulnerabilities.

Cyber Warfare’s Growing Maturity

Lyons highlighted the increasing sophistication of cyber warfare, pointing to recent conflicts as evidence. He cited examples from Venezuela, where cyber operations were layered to create favorable conditions for warfighters, and Iran, where similar tactics are being employed today.

"We saw it in spades in Venezuela, where you can layer cyber to create conditions that are favorable to the warfighter, that lower risk to mission and force, that where paired with both no kinetic and kinetic effects, can increase lethality."

Trump’s Cyber Strategy: Taking the Offensive

Lyons praised the cyber strategy under President Donald Trump, which emphasizes taking the fight to malicious hackers—a shift from the U.S.’s traditionally defensive posture.

"America’s posture in cyber defense has been largely a defensive posture. That’s a losing strategy for America. America has to dominate the full spectrum of cyber operations."

Key Takeaways

• Advanced AI models like Mythos will "fundamentally change warfare," according to a top Pentagon cyber official.
• The Pentagon is assessing new authorities and strategies to integrate AI into cyber operations.
• Mythos was flagged as a supply chain risk, but the Pentagon continues using it for vulnerability hunting.
• Recent conflicts in Venezuela and Iran demonstrate the growing maturity of cyber warfare tactics.
• The U.S. cyber strategy under President Trump prioritizes offensive cyber operations over a purely defensive approach.