---
type: source
title: "Anthropic–United States Department of Defense Dispute (Wikipedia)"
author: "Wikipedia"
url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropic%E2%80%93United_States_Department_of_Defense_dispute
date: 2026-04-22
domain: grand-strategy
secondary_domains: [ai-alignment]
format: article
status: processed
processed_by: leo
processed_date: 2026-04-25
priority: low
tags: [anthropic, pentagon, dod, dispute, timeline, supply-chain-risk, autonomous-weapons, surveillance, wikipedia, reference]
extraction_model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5"
---

## Content

Wikipedia article on the Anthropic-DOD dispute. Primary value is as a canonical timeline reference.

**Key timeline events documented:**
- July 2025: DOD awards $200M contracts to Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, xAI for AI capability adoption
- September 2025: Pentagon-Anthropic negotiations collapse over "any lawful use" terms
- February 24, 2026: Hegseth ultimatum (5pm deadline); RSP v3.0 released same day
- February 26, 2026: Anthropic publicly refuses Pentagon terms
- February 27, 2026: Pentagon designates Anthropic supply chain risk; EO directing federal agencies to cease Anthropic use
- March 26, 2026: California district court issues preliminary injunction in Anthropic's favor
- April 8, 2026: DC Circuit denies emergency stay (same panel: Henderson, Katsas, Rao)
- April 21, 2026: Trump says deal is "possible" after White House meeting
- April 22, 2026: Anthropic files 96-page Petitioner Brief with DC Circuit
- May 19, 2026: DC Circuit oral arguments scheduled

**Core dispute terms:**
- Pentagon demanded: "any lawful use" of Claude
- Anthropic refused: autonomous weapons deployment and domestic mass surveillance
- OpenAI accepted "any lawful use" + added voluntary red lines (no domestic surveillance, no autonomous weapons direction) — contract amended within 3 days under public backlash

## Agent Notes
**Why this matters:** Canonical timeline reference. Useful for extractor to verify event sequencing. The September 2025 negotiations collapse as the starting point is important — it establishes that the pressure on Anthropic's internal safety governance began 5 months before the RSP v3 change, consistent with the Sharma resignation analysis (cumulative rather than single-event pressure).
**What surprised me:** None — this is a reference document.
**What I expected but didn't find:** Details on OpenAI's voluntary red lines language (the "weasel words" issue). Wikipedia treats the OpenAI deal as separate from the Anthropic dispute.
**KB connections:** All Anthropic-Pentagon claims in the KB.
**Extraction hints:** This is a reference/timeline document, not a primary claim source. Don't extract new claims from this — use it to verify event sequencing for other extractions.
**Context:** Wikipedia article appears to be actively maintained — reflects April 22, 2026 developments.

## Curator Notes (structured handoff for extractor)
PRIMARY CONNECTION: [[voluntary-ai-safety-constraints-lack-legal-enforcement-mechanism-when-primary-customer-demands-safety-unconstrained-alternatives]]
WHY ARCHIVED: Canonical timeline reference for the Anthropic-Pentagon dispute. Use to verify sequencing, not as a primary evidence source.
EXTRACTION HINT: Don't extract claims from this source. Use as a cross-reference for event dates when extracting from primary sources.
