The US Department of Defence has confirmed it is no longer using AI tools from Anthropic, an official told the BBC. This decision comes months after the Pentagon designated Anthropic a "supply chain risk" on national security grounds.
Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth had previously labelled Anthropic a supply chain risk in February and announced a plan to stop using its products by late August. However, multiple sources familiar with the matter indicated that Anthropic's Claude model was still being widely used by the department as recently as last week, including in military operations against Iran.
The Pentagon had pressed Anthropic to remove safety guardrails from Claude and grant unfettered access to its AI tools. Anthropic reportedly refused, citing concerns about mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, leading to the "national security supply-chain risk" designation. Anthropic has described this move as "unprecedented and unlawful" and has sued the Trump administration to challenge it.
During this legal dispute, the Pentagon has entered into contracts with other major tech companies, including Google, xAI, and OpenAI. OpenAI tools have reportedly seen wider adoption in some military departments in recent months.