Artificial intelligence has become a stronger force on the battlefield, with the US military’s use of AI-assisted strikes on Iran underscoring what analysts say is the “urgency” for China to accelerate its push for tech self-reliance.

The US Department of Defence deployed Anthropic’s systems in the Iran campaign even after their deal collapsed, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal and Reuters. The technology was used for intelligence assessments, target identification and battle scenario simulations, one report said.

“The militarisation of AI is a wake-up call for the entire industry,” said William Wei, vice-president and chief operations officer of Chinese cybersecurity firm WebRAY. “It underscores the urgency of technological self-reliance.”

Arun Menon, principal analyst at MTN Consulting, a research and advisory firm focused on telecoms and cloud, said China had long pursued such a strategy and the latest developments provided “a clear reinforcement” of that trend.

“China has already been pushing domestic chips and AI infrastructure to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, and visible Pentagon partnerships simply provide stronger political justification to accelerate that effort,” Menon said.

Given the recent US capture of Venezuela leader Nicolas Maduro and the strikes in Iran, the cases had proved that “the US successfully applied AI models to efficiently achieve operational objectives, demonstrating the power of AI in combat”, said Chen Li, assistant researcher at Anbound, an independent think tank in Beijing.