(Reuters) - Defense technology company Anduril Industries and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI on Wednesday announced a partnership to develop and deploy advanced artificial intelligence solutions for national security missions.

The companies said the partnership will focus on improving the United States' counter-unmanned aircraft systems (CUAS) and their ability to detect, assess and respond to potentially lethal aerial threats in real time.

The CUAS is designed to help defend against drone strikes by detecting and intercepting them while they are airborne.

The AI models will be trained on Anduril's library of data on CUAS threats and operations.

"Our partnership with Anduril will help ensure OpenAI technology protects U.S. military personnel," said Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO.

The move comes amid a race between the U.S., its allies and China to develop AI-controlled weapons that will operate autonomously, including warships and fighter jets.

Anduril, founded in 2017, develops and fields integrated autonomous solutions across a wide variety of sensors, including drones, effectors and assets, and has experience automating the operations of robotic systems deployed in tactical environments.