Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic until Friday at 5 p.m. to grant the military unresticted use of its AI technology.

Defense chief Pete Hegseth has threatened to force the company to lift guardrails against greater military use of AI.

The growing clash between the U.S. Department of Defense and artificial intelligence company Anthropic has entered a decisive moment. At the center of the standoff is Pete Hegseth, who has delivered a firm deadline to the San Francisco–based AI startup.

The Pentagon has reportedly asked Boeing and Lockheed Martin to detail their reliance on Anthropic’s Claude chatbot ahead of a Friday deadline for the AI firm to either relax its safeguards or face blacklisting.

In what appears to be preparations to fully blacklist Anthropic for not budging on their acceptable use policies, the Defense Department has begun reaching out to contractors to assess their exposure to the AI company’s products.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has set a Friday deadline for the company to grant full lawful AI to military access or risk losing its $200 million contract and being labeled a supply chain risk.

Tech lawyers and AI policymakers warn that the Pentagon’s plans to compel Anthropic to abandon its ethical red lines are contradictory and could chill partnerships between the government and Silicon Valley.