297 The Pentagon has awarded a $9 billion contract to Google, Oracle, Microsoft, and Amazon to create its cloud computing network, a year after claims of politicization over the previously announced contract and a protracted court struggle forced the service to restart its award process. The Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability is intended to give military troops all over the world access to unclassified, secret, and top-secret data. It is expected to act as a backbone for the Pentagon’s new war operations, which will rely largely on unmanned aircraft and space communications satellites but would require a speedy way to transfer intelligence from those platforms to troops on the ground. The contract will be awarded in parts, with a total estimated completion date of June 2028, the Pentagon said in a statement. You Might Be Interested In Coinbase CEO Blasts SEC as Exchange Mulls Global Investments Amid ETF Optimism Challenges Abound as HK Pivots on Crypto Partnership Works to Restore Redfish Population Along Florida’s West Coast Unravelling the OpenAI Saga: Sam Altman’s Abrupt Exit, Board Battles, and the Future of Generative AI Nvidia Pledges Network of AI Chip Plants in Japan Aircraft lessor SMBC completes $6.7 bln purchase of rival Goshawk