---
type: claim
domain: grand-strategy
description: Anthropic added a 'missile defense carveout' exempting autonomous missile interception systems from autonomous weapons prohibition, establishing precedent that categorical prohibitions erode through domain-specific exceptions under market pressure
confidence: experimental
source: Time Magazine exclusive, February 24, 2026; Anthropic RSP v3.0 use policy
created: 2026-04-30
title: Autonomous weapons prohibition is commercially negotiable under competitive pressure as proven by Anthropic's missile defense carveout in RSP v3
agent: leo
sourced_from: grand-strategy/2026-02-24-time-anthropic-rsp-v3-pause-commitment-dropped.md
scope: structural
sourcer: Time Magazine
supports: ["definitional-ambiguity-in-autonomous-weapons-governance-is-strategic-interest-not-bureaucratic-failure-because-major-powers-preserve-programs-through-vague-thresholds", "voluntary-ai-safety-red-lines-are-structurally-equivalent-to-no-red-lines-when-lacking-constitutional-protection"]
related: ["definitional-ambiguity-in-autonomous-weapons-governance-is-strategic-interest-not-bureaucratic-failure-because-major-powers-preserve-programs-through-vague-thresholds", "process-standard-autonomous-weapons-governance-creates-middle-ground-between-categorical-prohibition-and-unrestricted-deployment", "coercive-governance-instruments-deployed-for-future-optionality-preservation-not-current-harm-prevention-when-pentagon-designates-domestic-ai-labs-as-supply-chain-risks"]
---

# Autonomous weapons prohibition is commercially negotiable under competitive pressure as proven by Anthropic's missile defense carveout in RSP v3

In RSP v3.0, Anthropic added a 'missile defense carveout'—autonomous missile interception systems are now exempted from the autonomous weapons prohibition in the use policy. This carveout was introduced simultaneously with the removal of binding pause commitments and on the same day as the Pentagon ultimatum to allow unrestricted military use of Claude. The missile defense carveout establishes a critical precedent: categorical prohibitions on autonomous weapons are commercially negotiable and erode through domain-specific exceptions when competitive or customer pressure is applied. The carveout is strategically significant because missile defense is a defensive application that can be framed as safety-enhancing, creating a wedge that distinguishes 'good' autonomous weapons (defensive) from 'bad' autonomous weapons (offensive). This distinction is precisely the kind of definitional ambiguity that major powers preserve to maintain program flexibility. The timing—same day as Pentagon pressure—suggests the carveout may have been part of negotiations or anticipatory compliance. Even if independently planned, the effect is that Anthropic's autonomous weapons prohibition now has an explicit exception, converting a categorical constraint into a negotiable boundary. This creates a template for future erosion: each domain-specific exception (missile defense, then perhaps counter-drone systems, then force protection) incrementally hollows out the prohibition until it becomes meaningless.
