The United States Department of Defence has confirmed it is no longer utilising artificial intelligence products developed by Anthropic, according to a statement provided to the BBC. The announcement marks the culmination of a months-long process that began when Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth formally designated the company as a supply chain risk on national security grounds.
A department official said the Pentagon "has ceased the use of Anthropic products," confirming for the first time that the phase-out has been completed. The details of the department halting all use of Anthropic's tools had not previously been reported.
Hegseth first labelled Anthropic a supply chain risk in February and announced that the Pentagon would stop using it by late August. However, multiple sources familiar with the matter told the BBC that as recently as last week, Anthropic's Claude model was still being used across the department for research, analysis, and intelligence gathering.
The technology was also reportedly employed in military operations against Iran, according to those sources, who include former US defence officials and contractors who have worked closely with the Pentagon on AI matters. They described Claude as a critical tool for sorting through vast quantities of information.
A spokesman for Anthropic declined to comment when approached about the Pentagon's statement. The company had been used by the US government and military since 2024, making it the first advanced AI company to have its tools deployed in government agencies conducting classified work.
The dispute escalated earlier this year when the Pentagon pressed Anthropic to remove safety guardrails from its Claude model and provide the military with unfettered access to its AI tools. Anthropic refused, citing concerns about mass surveillance and autonomous weapons systems.
In response, Hegseth designated the company a "national security supply-chain risk," a legal classification typically reserved for companies based in countries that pose a threat to the United States. Anthropic said the move was "unprecedented and unlawful" and has sued the Trump administration in an effort to overturn the designation.
The legal battle has proceeded through the courts, with a judge recently ruling that the Trump administration illegally retaliated against Anthropic. As the litigation continues, the Pentagon has signed contracts with other major technology 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. This shift reflects the Pentagon's broader effort to diversify its artificial intelligence partnerships.
The Pentagon's statement on Monday came in response to questions from the BBC about its use of Anthropic, after multiple people said in interviews that Claude was still being widely used. According to multiple sources, the model was embedded in a larger data platform used by the Pentagon called Maven Smart System.
Maven, which is operated by Palantir, serves as the Pentagon's primary platform for organising intelligence and other data. Palantir, a leading defence technology firm, was founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, a prominent ally of President Donald Trump.
Lauren Kahn, a senior research analyst at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology, noted that because Claude was deeply integrated into Maven, removing it quickly would have been difficult. "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. Kahn, a former US defence official, added that once such systems become integrated, removing them can be painful.
Sources familiar with how the technology is used said analysts and other defence officials rely on Maven to access and organise visual data, including satellite imagery and drone footage. That data was then fed into Claude and other large language models for tasks such as identifying potential military targets.
Officials frequently used the technology when compiling one-page briefs that were passed up the chain of command, according to a source who was given a demonstration of Maven by Palantir earlier this year. The integration of AI into these workflows highlights the degree to which the Pentagon has come to depend on advanced commercial AI systems.
When Hegseth initially ordered Anthropic to be phased out of government, "there was concern with moving beyond Anthropic to OpenAI" and other tools, a former senior US defence official said. Hegseth set a six-month deadline to phase out Anthropic on 27 February, one day before the US and Israel attacked Iran.
Pentagon employees continued to use Anthropic's Claude tools, including its powerful Mythos models, "throughout the whole period of the controversy" with the company, one of the people said. Claude was used in particular for intelligence gathering and analysis, including through Palantir's Maven system, according to several sources.
The BBC spoke with defence contractors specialising in AI who have worked closely with the Pentagon, as well as former US defence officials and others familiar with the department's use of artificial intelligence. Several spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
The completion of the phase-out marks a significant moment in the evolving relationship between the US military and the commercial AI industry. It also underscores the tensions that can arise when national security priorities clash with the ethical positions taken by technology companies.
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