The United States Department of Defence has ceased all use of Anthropic’s artificial intelligence products, according to an official statement provided to the BBC on Monday. This action follows the Pentagon’s February designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk on national security grounds. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth had ordered the phased removal of Anthropic tools by late August, though sources indicated delays in implementation.
According to multiple individuals with knowledge of Pentagon operations, Anthropic’s Claude model remained in active use within the department as recently as the preceding week. The tool was deployed for research, analysis, intelligence gathering, and military operations. Pentagon officials and defence contractors identified Claude as particularly valuable for processing large volumes of information. The model was integrated into Maven Smart System, a primary Pentagon platform operated by Palantir for organizing intelligence and data. Analysts used the technology to identify potential military targets and prepare briefing materials for command personnel.
AnthropIC had been utilized by the US government and military since 2024 and was the first advanced AI company to deploy tools in government agencies handling classified information. Tensions emerged earlier in the year when the Pentagon requested that Anthropic remove safety guardrails from Claude and provide the military with unrestricted access to its AI products. Anthropic declined, citing concerns regarding mass surveillance and autonomous weapons development. This refusal prompted Hegseth’s designation of the company as a national security supply-chain risk, a classification typically reserved for firms based in adversarial nations.
AnthropIC has challenged the designation as unlawful and sued the Trump administration to overturn it. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has entered contracts with competing technology firms including Google, xAI, and OpenAI. Recent months have seen expanded adoption of OpenAI tools in certain military departments. Experts have noted that removing deeply integrated technology platforms like Claude from systems such as Maven presents significant technical challenges. Recent diplomatic developments have shifted the landscape, with Anthropic’s chief executive meeting twice with President Trump at the White House, following which relations appeared to improve despite ongoing concerns about artificial intelligence risks.
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