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Anthropic’s Pentagon blacklist struck down: How the conflict unfolded

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By Reuters | Updated: August 28, 2026

August 28 – A U.S. judge on Thursday permanently blocked the Pentagon’s “supply-chain risk” designation against Anthropic, ending a months-long standoff over military access to the company’s frontier AI models.

The dispute began early this year when the Pentagon pressed Anthropic to remove safety guardrails from Claude, a demand ​that escalated into a blacklisting and triggered lawsuits and federal agency bans.

Despite the ban, government agencies continued using Anthropic’s tools as the White House and the company ‌gradually mended ties ahead of Anthropic’s planned IPO.

Here is a timeline of the conflict:

January 29The Pentagon and Anthropic clash over eliminating safeguards that could allow the government to use its technology to target weapons autonomously and conduct U.S. domestic surveillance
February 23U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summons Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to the Pentagon for talks on the military use of Claude
February 24The Pentagon asks Anthropic to get on board, or risk consequences, including being labeled a supply-chain risk
February 25The Pentagon asks defense contractors, including ​Boeing (BA.N) and Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), to assess their reliance on Anthropic
February 26Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell gives Anthropic a deadline to allow unrestricted military use of its technology until 5:01 p.m. ET on ​February 27
February 26Anthropic refuses to eliminate safeguards from its AI systems
February 27U.S. President Donald Trump directs every federal agency to immediately cease all use of Anthropic’s technology
February ⁠27Hegseth directs the U.S. DoD to designate Anthropic a “supply-chain risk to national security”
February 27Anthropic says it will challenge in court the Pentagon’s decision
February 27OpenAI announces deal to deploy technology in the DoD’s classified network, which includes three ​conditions
March 2The U.S. Departments of State, Treasury and Health and Human Services move to cease using Anthropic’s Claude
March 3Lockheed Martin pledges to follow the DoD’s direction, signaling a wider contractor exodus, legal experts say
March 4Big tech ​industry group pushes to de-escalate the clash, saying a supply-chain risk designation creates uncertainty for companies and could threaten the military’s access to the best products and services
March 5The U.S. DoD formally designates Anthropic as a supply-chain risk
March 6The U.S. General Services Administration terminates Anthropic’s OneGov deal, which made Claude available to the federal government
March 9Anthropic sues to block the Pentagon from placing it on a national security blacklist, calling it unlawful and a violation of its free speech and due ​process rights
March 9Anthropic executives say the U.S. government’s blacklisting of the AI firm could cut its 2026 revenue by multiple billions of dollars and cause reputational harm
March 10Microsoft (MSFT.O) backs Anthropic’s lawsuit, warning the designation risks ​costly supplier disruptions and rushed rebuilding of products that depend on Anthropic
March 11Pentagon tells senior leaders that Anthropic’s tools may continue beyond the phase-out if deemed critical to national security, internal memo shows
March 12Anthropic sought a stay from the ‌U.S. Court of ⁠Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit of the Pentagon’s supply-chain risk designation
March 12Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael rules out negotiations with Anthropic
March 17U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration says Anthropic is unlikely to prevail on its First Amendment claims
March 24During a court hearing, U.S. Judge Rita Lin of the District Court for the Northern District of California says the Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic “looks like an attempt to cripple Anthropic” for raising AI safety concerns
March 26Lin temporarily blocks the Pentagon’s blacklisting, giving the administration seven days to appeal
April 8A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit declines to pause the supply-chain ​risk designation, allowing the blacklisting to remain during ​the legal challenge
April 13Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark ⁠says the company is discussing the capabilities of its advanced AI model, Mythos, with the Trump administration
April 16The White House prepares to give major federal agencies access to a version of Mythos, Bloomberg News reports
April 19The U.S. National Security Agency is using the Mythos Preview model, with the tool reportedly being used more broadly ​within the Defense Department, Axios reports
April 21Trump says Anthropic is “shaping up” and signals a potential deal with the Pentagon after recent White House talks
April ​28The White House drafts guidance that ⁠could let federal agencies bypass the designation and use new models such as Mythos, Axios reports
May 1Pentagon strikes classified-network deals with seven AI firms, including OpenAI, Google and Microsoft, while Anthropic remains excluded
May 12Pentagon technology chief says the Defense Department is using Mythos to identify and patch cybersecurity vulnerabilities
June 5Anthropic and the White House are easing tensions ahead of the company’s planned IPO, sources tell Reuters
June 8The Trump administration denies unlawfully retaliating against Anthropic over its ⁠military AI guardrails
June ​12Anthropic disables Fable 5 and Mythos 5 after a U.S. government order restricting foreign access
June 23U.S. Senator Mark Warner says Mythos identified ​vulnerabilities in classified U.S. government systems within hours, the Associated Press reports
June 30The U.S. Commerce Department lifts export controls on Fable 5 and Mythos 5 after Anthropic implements new safeguards
July 6The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is using Mythos to scan government ​software, with the audits reportedly uncovering numerous bugs, Reuters reports
August 27Lin permanently blocks the Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic, ruling the designation was “illegal and baseless”

Reporting by Anhata Rooprai in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Tasim Zahid

© Thomson Reuters 2026