LOS ANGELES, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Defense said on Friday that it has entered into agreements with eight artificial intelligence companies to deploy advanced AI capabilities on the department's classified networks for operational use.

The eight companies are SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, Nvidia, Reflection, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Oracle.

"These agreements accelerate the transformation toward establishing the United States military as an AI-first fighting force and will strengthen our warfighters' ability to maintain decision superiority across all domains of warfare," the department said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy is also expanding its use of AI for mine detection in the Strait of Hormuz, according to media reports. The Navy has signed a contract worth up to 99.7 million U.S. dollars with San Francisco-based AI company Domino Data Lab to enhance its capabilities in detecting naval mines.

The company's AI software can analyze data from multiple sensors and enable unmanned underwater systems to identify new types of mines more quickly, reports said. ■