A federal appeals court has delivered a major victory to the Pentagon in its ongoing legal clash with a prominent artificial intelligence firm. This latest decision could reshape the future control of military AI in the United States.
In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel supported the Defense Department, upholding its choice to completely bar Anthropic from military contracts.
The Fight That Split Two Federal Courts
The controversy began in February when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanded that Anthropic remove safety barriers preventing Claude from being utilized in fully autonomous lethal weapons and large-scale domestic surveillance. Anthropic publicly declined on February 26, mere hours before Hegseth’s deadline passed.
On March 3, Hegseth officially labeled Anthropic a national security risk. This classification terminated the firm’s active military agreements and prohibited other Pentagon contractors from incorporating its technology.
The court’s findings noted that an Anthropic executive had previously questioned a contractor’s application of Claude during a specific military operation.
According to media reports within the case file, that mission referred to the January 3 operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Defense officials pointed to that instance as proof that Claude’s performance remained too unpredictable to trust for military needs.
Judge Gregory Katsas authored the majority opinion, which was joined by Judge Neomi Rao. Katsas stated that the Pentagon possessed “ample support” for its determination. Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson issued a dissenting opinion.
Why Anthropic Says This Fight Isn’t Over
Just last month, a separate court in California arrived at the opposite conclusion. Judge Rita Lin determined that a broader, matching ban enacted by the Trump administration was unconstitutional, describing it as retaliatory measures meant to make “a public example” of Anthropic.
Anthropic issued a strong response to Friday’s ruling. As reported by CNBC, a company spokesperson stated, “We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision. Another federal court has already held the government’s parallel designation unlawful.”
It remains uncertain whether Anthropic will pursue a rehearing or escalate the legal battle to the Supreme Court, leaving this new American AI battleground divided across two conflicting federal courts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the Pentagon blacklist Anthropic?
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic a national security risk after the company publicly refused to strip safeguards blocking its AI model, Claude, from being used in fully autonomous lethal weapons and mass domestic surveillance.
What was the recent appeals court decision?
A three-judge panel voted 2-1 in favor of the Defense Department, upholding the decision to entirely blacklist Anthropic from military contracts.
How does this compare to other court rulings on the ban?
This ruling contrasts sharply with a decision from a California federal court last month, where Judge Rita Lin ruled a parallel Trump administration ban unconstitutional and vacated the supply chain risk designation.
