Microsoft and Lockheed Martin are collaborating to deliver classified cloud services and advanced tech for the Department of Defense (DOD).

The Pentagon has been working to modernize its tech infrastructure and speed up cloud adoption. The DOD has already had its share of false starts, but is now turning to Microsoft and Lockheed Martin to help it with cloud technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and more.

The relationship makes Lockheed Martin the first non-government organization to independently operate within Microsoft Azure Government Secret cloud.

“Through this historic agreement, Lockheed Martin and Microsoft are blazing a new path in classified cloud, artificial intelligence, and 5G.MIL® capabilities for the Department of Defense,” said Yvonne Hodge, senior vice president, Enterprise Business and Digital Transformation, and chief information officer, Lockheed Martin. “We are creating faster, safer, and more affordable 21st Century Security solutions that infuse immersive experiences and other advanced commercial technologies into the most capable defense systems. We are confident this unrivaled combination of capabilities will help keep our customers ahead of new threats and challenges.”

“Our national security leaders need an unassailable information advantage, which is why we’re bringing the power of the hyperscale cloud to accelerate their national security missions,” said Jason Zander, executive vice president, Strategic Missions and Technologies, Microsoft. “In partnership with Lockheed Martin, we’re demonstrating how the defense industrial base can bring classified data into the cloud securely while bringing advanced 5G connectivity, critical data processing and analysis, and immersive experiences to the edge to support decision- making where it’s needed, when it’s needed. Lockheed Martin is a valued partner in this effort, and we’ll continue to innovate and explore the art of the possible to support national security.”

The collaboration will take advantage of Microsoft’s unique solution for air-gapped cloud deployment, an important factor in maintaining the necessary security.

Lockheed Martin is the first defense industrial base member to use Microsoft’s newest National Industrial Security Program (NISP) framework for air-gapped clouds after a year-long pilot. Work on developing the classified and unclassified cloud environments is already underway, with expectations for the project to be operational in 2023.