A federal judge on Friday upheld race-conscious admissions policies at the U.S. Naval Academy, the latest ruling in a closely-watched legal battle over affirmative action at selective colleges and universities across the country.

Students for Fair Admissions, an anti-affirmative action group that won landmark 2023 victories at the U.S. Supreme Court against Harvard and the University of North Carolina, sued the Naval Academy , alleging the Annapolis-based military school’s efforts to boost minority enrollment are unconstitutional and discriminate against white applicants.

District Court Judge Richard Bennett, however, determined that “the U.S. Naval Academy is distinct” from the civilian universities that lost last year at the Supreme Court. “Its mission is to prepare its students to become officers in the Navy and Marine Corps,” he wrote in a 179-page opinion.

During a nearly two-week bench trial in September, lawyers from the Department of Justice called it a “national security imperative” for military leaders to reflect the racial diversity of the country. They argued diversity promotes unit cohesion, aids in efforts to recruit and retain talent and bolsters the military’s legitimacy at home and around the world.

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Bennett, a 2003 appointee of former President George W. Bush who served in the U.S. Army Reserve and Maryland National Guard, echoed those arguments.

“The Academy has tied its use of race to the realization of an officer corps that represents the country it protects and the people it leads,” he wrote. “The Academy has proven that this national security interest is indeed measurable and that its admissions program is narrowly tailored to meet that interest.”

At trial, attorneys for Students for Fair Admissions claimed race has nothing to do with a military’s effectiveness. Instead, factors like leadership skills, tactical proficiency and resources were more important, they said.

The group argued that the Naval Academy’s admissions policies were similar to those the Supreme Court struck down. It claimed the Naval Academy was “balancing” the number of applicants it admitted from racial groups each year. And it accused the school of favoring minority applicants over white applicants with better qualifications.

Edward Blum, president of Students for Fair Admissions, said in a statement that the group was “disappointed by the Court’s opinion” and vowed to appeal.

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“It is our hope that the U.S. military academies ultimately will be compelled to follow the Supreme Court’s prohibition of race in college admissions,” he said.

The Naval Academy accepted 9% of over 15,000 applicants for its latest class of midshipmen, placing it among the nation’s most selective institutions. At trial, its lawyers argued that race already plays a limited role in the school’s admissions. A number of other factors, including socioeconomic background, leadership potential, academic achievement, physical fitness and life experiences, are also considered.

Of the Naval Academy’s 1,183 current first-year students, also known as plebes, 642 are white, 178 are Hispanic, 132 are Asian American and 70 are African American. Another 137 are multi-racial or multi-ethnic.

The Naval Academy’s Dean of Admissions Bruce Latta testified that without race-conscious admissions policies, the number of minority students would “drop dramatically.” Many selective colleges and universities, including Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, have already seen a decline in Black enrollment since the Supreme Court’s 2023 rulings.

In addition to the Naval Academy, Students for Fair Admissions has filed a lawsuit challenging admissions policies at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. That case has not yet gone to trial.

This is a developing story.