The Pentagon officially classifies Anthropics as a supply chain risk

decision, It was first reported by The Wall Street Journal ThursdayCiting a source familiar with the matter, it would bar defense contractors from working with the government if they use Claude, Anthropic’s artificial intelligence software, in their products. Although the designation is typically applied to foreign companies with ties to hostile governments, this is the first time a U.S. company has publicly received this designation.

At the heart of the conflict lies Anthropic’s refusal to allow the Pentagon to use Claude for two purposes: autonomous lethal weapons without human supervision, and mass surveillance. The Pentagon argued that requiring Anthropic to control government use would put too much power in the hands of a private company, while Anthropic was not assured that the government would respect its red lines. However, the negotiations turned ugly, as the Pentagon increasingly threatened to use supply chain risk designation if Anthropic refused to comply with their demands. After Anthropic announced last Thursday that it would not complyThe Pentagon carried out this threat. (The Pentagon has not commented on the record. Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)

It is unclear how broadly the Pentagon will try to implement this classification. Friday, When he announced his intention to classify Anthropy as a dangerDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that any company that does “any business activity” with Anthropic — even outside of its work at the Pentagon — will have its defense contracts cancelled. At the time, Anthropic stated in response that such a broad application of the law would be illegal.
Hegseth and President Donald Trump have set a 6-month deadline for Anthropic to remove Claude from government systems, but it won’t be easy, especially from the military. After the United States attacked Iran over the weekend, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a targeted missile strike, reports indicated that The intelligence tools supported by Claude played a major role in the success of the mission.