Why AI Data Centers Are Now a Critical Front in National Security

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Across the United States, local opposition is mounting to proposed AI data centers and the power plants that would feed them. David Deptula, director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and a retired Air Force lieutenant general, says this data infrastructure has become central to national security.

In a Thursday Washington Post op‑ed, Deptula argued that data infrastructure will be decisive in connecting Pentagon systems—long‑range missiles, advanced fighters, space assets, missile defenses and drones—into an integrated network.

“Data is no longer a commercial tool but a strategic asset,” he wrote. “Almost every military function now depends on the ability to store, move, process, protect and exploit vast amounts of data at high speed and massive scale.”

Recent operations involving Iran demonstrated AI’s ability to fuse multiple data sources and rapidly generate targeting intelligence. With support from Palantir’s AI platform, U.S. and Israeli forces struck thousands of targets within days of the conflict’s onset.

A terms‑of‑service dispute between the Pentagon and AI startup Anthropic further highlighted how dependent Defense leaders have become on AI for information processing.

In March, Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s deputy assistant secretary for research and engineering, told the All‑In podcast he feared those systems could fail in the next fight, or that built‑in safeguards and refusal responses could activate and endanger troops.

Deptula pointed to Ukraine’s increasing use of autonomous‑enabled drones as an example of AI’s growing battlefield role. He also noted that Iran’s early strike on an Amazon data center in the Middle East illustrates how data infrastructure serves as an extension of state power.

He warned that a shortage of data storage and computing capacity could be catastrophic, arguing that victory in future wars will go to the side that can detect, decide and act faster. That requires vast amounts of intelligence, cyber, logistics, targeting and operational data—and the computing capacity to train AI on all of it.

Despite Deptula’s push to make data centers a top national security priority, many U.S. communities remain skeptical. Proposed facilities are meeting fierce local resistance, and voters have blamed AI data centers’ power demands for rising electricity bills, fueling nationwide opposition to new projects.

Deptula’s warning that data centers are essential Pentagon assets also risks being drowned out by President Donald Trump’s habit of framing a wide range of issues—from tariffs to White House events—under the banner of national security.

The United States still leads global data‑center capacity, but Deptula warned that China is rapidly marshaling industrial resources to close the gap.

“The country with the best data infrastructure will hold a decisive edge in the next war,” he said, adding that the United States cannot afford to cede that lead.

/ Jason Ma   Darin Kim, reporter quill@fortunekorea.co.kr