Hegseth's Anthropic Deadline Risks Severe Defense AI Gaps

Analysts Warn Pentagon Feud With Anthropic Could Trigger Cascading Defense Impacts Chris Riotta (@chrisriotta) • February 26, 2026

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s reported Friday deadline for Anthropic to provide expanded access to its Claude artificial intelligence model is unrealistic and risks triggering unintended cybersecurity and supply chain consequences across the defense industrial base, analysts told Information Security Media Group.

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The Pentagon is reviewing its business ties with Anthropic following weeks of negotiations over how Claude may be used in classified and operational environments (see: Pentagon Claude Dispute Fuels Mismatch Over AI ). Hegseth has reportedly warned the company it could face designation as a "supply chain risk" or other punitive measures if it refuses to tailor model access and safeguards to military demands.

But reducing such a technically, legally and morally complex dispute to a matter of ...