The company could be declared a "supply chain risk."

13:04, Mon, Feb 16, 2026 Updated: 13:13, Mon, Feb 16, 2026

US-SPACE-DEFENSE

Pete Hegseth (Image: Getty)

The Pentagon is reportedly close to cutting ties with AI giant Anthropic, branding it a "supply chain risk."

This would mean that anyone wanting to do business with the US military would have to cut ties with the company.

Speaking to Axios, a senior official said: "It will be an enormous pain in the ass to disentangle, and we are going to make sure they pay a price for forcing our hand like this."

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told Axios: "The Department of War's relationship with Anthropic is being reviewed. Our nation requires that our partners be willing to help our warfighters win in any fight. Ultimately, this is about our troops and the safety of the American people."

The news comes after Anthropic and the Pentagon held months-long talks over the terms under which the military can use Claude, the AI giant's model, which is the only one currently available in the military's classified systems.

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Anthropic wants to ensure its technology isn't used to spy on Americans or to develop AI weapons with no human involvement.

The Pentagon believes these conditions place too many restrictions on their technological ambitions.