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Perspective
Tech Policy & GeopoliticsDefense Systems

Anthropic at War with the Pentagon

February 28, 2026|2 min

A perspective from Contrary Research.

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  • Perspective
  • Authors1
  • Related Companies3

On Friday, Trump directed all federal agencies to cease usage of Anthropic models and products over the next six months after the company refused to drop its safety guardrails in response to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s demands for unrestricted access to the technology for all lawful military applications. The conflict reportedly arose after the military reportedly used Claude during a classified special operations raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Anthropic was the first AI company authorized to work on the military’s classified networks, and has been seeking assurances that its tech won’t be used for autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance. On Thursday, Amodei issued a statement on behalf of the company, refusing the Pentagon’s demand. It is unclear as of Friday whether Anthropic, the first AI company authorized to work on the military’s classified networks, will be officially labelled as a "supply chain risk," a designation typically reserved for foreign adversaries that effectively blacklists Anthropic from future government work and forces other defense contractors to cease using its models. Rival AI firms, including xAI and Google, have reportedly agreed or are close to agreeing to the Pentagon's unfettered use terms, with Sam Altman reportedly seeking a new contract with the DoD.

Authors

  • Claire Schultz

    Research Associate

    See articles

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Authors

  • Claire Schultz

    Research Associate

    Claire is a Research Associate at Contrary. Claire's academic research has centered primarily on particle physics, and has been published in Nature. Prior to Contrary, Claire worked on the investment team at Bridgewater Associates and studied mathematics and physics.

    See articles

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    Anthropic has developed its own method to train and deploy “Constitutional AI”, or large language models (LLMs) with embedded values that can be controlled by humans.

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