Pentagon Labels Anthropic a Supply-Chain Risk Over AI 'Red Lines,' Moves to Replace Claude With Rival Models

The Pentagon labels Anthropic a supply-chain risk, warning that the AI company's self-imposed 'red lines' could allow staff to sabotage military AI systems during active combat, as the Defense Department races to replace Claude with rival models from Google, OpenAI, and xAI ahead of a federal hearing next Tuesday.

• The Trump administration's Justice Department argues in a court filing that Anthropic's push to limit how the Pentagon uses its Claude AI models gives the Defense Department reasonable grounds to label the company a supply-chain risk, potentially barring it from defense contracts.
• The Pentagon claims Anthropic staff could sabotage, manipulate, or alter AI model behavior during active warfighting operations if the company's self-imposed 'red lines' are crossed, making it an unacceptable security risk in classified and combat systems.
• A federal hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday in San Francisco to decide whether Anthropic will receive a temporary reprieve while litigation continues, with the Defense Department racing to replace Claude with AI tools from Google, OpenAI, and xAI.