Pentagon stops using Anthropic AI tools after designating firm a supply chain risk

The US Department of Defence is no longer using Anthropic's AI tools, a department official told the BBC. The Pentagon "has ceased the use of Anthropic products", the official said in a statement on Monday. A spokesman for Anthropic declined to comment when asked about the Pentagon's statement.

Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth labelled Anthropic a supply chain risk in February and announced that the Pentagon would stop using it by late August, according to the BBC. It is not clear why there has been a delay. Multiple people familiar with the matter told the BBC that as recently as last week Anthropic's Claude model was still being used by the department in research, analysis and intelligence gathering, as well as in military operations against Iran.

Those people, who include former US defence officials and contractors who have worked closely with the Pentagon on AI, said Claude was viewed as a critical tool for sorting through vast quantities of information. Multiple sources said it was embedded in a larger data platform used by the Pentagon called Maven Smart System. Maven, which is operated by Palantir, is the Pentagon's primary platform for organising intelligence and other data.

Anthropic had been used by the US government and military since 2024 and was the first advanced AI company to have its tools deployed in government agencies doing classified work, according to the BBC. Earlier this year, the Pentagon pressed it to remove its safety guardrails from Claude and give the military unfettered access to its AI products. When Anthropic refused, citing concerns of mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, Hegseth designated the company a "national security supply-chain risk", a law typically reserved for companies based in countries that pose a threat to the US.

Anthropic said the move was "unprecedented and unlawful" and has sued the Trump administration in an effort to overturn the designation. As this legal fight has played out in the courts, the Pentagon has signed contracts with other major tech companies, including Google, xAI and OpenAI. OpenAI tools have been more widely adopted in recent months in some military departments, according to two people familiar with AI use in the defence department.

Lauren Kahn, a senior research analyst at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology and a former US defence official, said that because Claude was deeply integrated into Maven it would have been difficult to remove it quickly from the system. "The fact that it took the Pentagon until now to remove all use of Claude from across the system is indicative that these things are not just plug and play," she said. "Once they become integrated it can be painful to remove them."