Pentagon says it has stopped using Anthropic AI tools

The US Department of Defence says it has stopped using Anthropic’s AI products, months after designating the company a national security supply-chain risk. A department official told the BBC that the Pentagon “has ceased the use of Anthropic products”. Anthropic declined to comment.

In February, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth labelled Anthropic a supply-chain risk and said the Pentagon would stop using its tools by late August. But multiple people familiar with the department’s AI use told the BBC that Claude was still being used as recently as the week before the department’s statement. They said it supported research, analysis and intelligence gathering, as well as military operations against Iran.

Several sources said Claude had been integrated into Maven Smart System, a Pentagon data platform operated by Palantir. The sources described the system as a tool for organising intelligence and other data, including satellite imagery and drone footage. They said that information could be analysed with Claude and other large language models.

Anthropic had been used by the US government and military since 2024. The dispute began after the Pentagon pressed the company to remove Claude’s safety guardrails and allow military use without restrictions. Anthropic refused, citing concerns about mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. The company has sued the Trump administration over its designation.

The Pentagon has also signed contracts with Google, xAI and OpenAI. The BBC report said OpenAI tools have been more widely adopted in some military departments in recent months, citing two people familiar with the department’s AI use.