The Department of Defense is actively evaluating AI models from OpenAI, Google, and xAI’s Grok as replacements for Anthropic’s Claude, which was effectively blacklisted from military use in late February. The competitive testing kicked off on March 1, 2026, just days after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic’s products as a supply-chain risk.
The core issue: Anthropic refused to remove safety restrictions that prevent its AI from being used for mass surveillance or lethal autonomous weaponry.
A $200 million contract unravels
Anthropic secured a contract worth up to $200 million in July 2025 to integrate Claude into classified military networks.
Things started falling apart when Pentagon officials pushed for unrestricted use of the technology, particularly in areas related to national security and domestic surveillance. Anthropic’s leadership drew a line. The Pentagon drew a different one.
