Anthropic is identified by the U.S. Department of Defense as a national security supply chain risk, and the CEO says they will file a legal challenge.

Gate News reports that on March 6, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei issued a statement on March 5, saying that Anthropic received an official letter from the U.S. Department of Defense (now called the “Department of War”) on March 4, confirming that the company has been designated as a national security supply chain risk. Amodei stated that this designation has no sufficient legal basis, and the company will challenge it through legal channels.

Amodei pointed out that the wording in the Department of Defense’s letter indicates that the designation only applies to cases where clients directly use Claude in Department of Defense contracts and does not affect scenarios where Claude is used outside of DOD contracts. He reaffirmed that negotiations with the Department of Defense have been ongoing, and both sides have communicated about service methods and transition plans. Anthropic maintains two bottom lines: opposition to large-scale domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons.

Amodei apologized for a previously leaked internal company post, saying it was written on the same day that Trump announced the removal of Anthropic, Defense Secretary Hegseth issued a supply chain risk designation, and OpenAI reached an agreement with the Pentagon. He stated that the tone was not fully considered. He emphasized that Anthropic’s top priority is to ensure that frontline personnel and national security experts do not lose critical tools during major combat operations. The company will continue to provide model services to the Department of Defense and national security agencies at a symbolic fee.