What happened
President Trump signed National Security Presidential Memorandum 11 (NSPM-11), titled 'Artificial Intelligence in the National Security Enterprise,' on June 5, 2026. The memorandum rescinds Biden's NSM-25, directs the entire military and intelligence community to accelerate AI adoption under four pillars (Adoption, Adaptation, Assurance, Accountability), requires that deployed AI systems be 'reliable, robust, steerable, and controllable,' mandates contractual clauses preventing commercial vendors from disabling or degrading AI that warfighters depend on, and calls for a classified annex to be issued within 90 days.
Why it matters
The Assurance pillar creates a novel AI supply-chain control requirement: defence and intelligence contractors providing AI models or services to national security customers must now accept contractual terms preserving US government override and continuity rights. Any AI vendor serving the US government should expect updated procurement and security requirements flowing from this directive, and enterprises in the defence industrial base need to map their AI deployments against the new controllability and steerability definitions.
Action needed
AI vendors and defence contractors should review the NSPM-11 full text and the June 5 White House Fact Sheet, begin gap analysis against the Assurance pillar's controllability/steerability requirements, and flag procurement counsel to identify existing contracts that may need amendment before the 90-day classified annex is issued.