Anthropic and the Pentagon are reportedly arguing over Claude usage

Source: TechCrunch

In Brief

Posted: 1:11 PM PST · February 15, 2026

Image Credits: Tom Brenner/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Pentagon’s AI Usage Demand

The Pentagon is urging AI companies to permit the U.S. military to use their technology for “all lawful purposes,” according to a report in Axios.

Companies Involved

The government is reportedly making the same demand of OpenAI, Google, xAI, and Anthropic. An anonymous Trump‑administration official told Axios that one of those companies has agreed, while the other two have shown some flexibility.

Anthropic’s Resistance

Anthropic has been the most resistant. In response, the Pentagon is allegedly threatening to terminate its $200 million contract with the AI firm.

Prior Reporting

• In January, the Wall Street Journal reported significant disagreement between Anthropic and Defense Department officials over how Claude models could be used.
• The WSJ later noted that Claude was used in a U.S. military operation to capture then‑Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (source).

Anthropic’s Comment

Anthropic did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. A company spokesperson told Axios that Anthropic has “not discussed the use of Claude for specific operations with the Department of War” but is instead “focused on a specific set of Usage Policy questions — namely, our hard limits around fully autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance.”