Pentagon stops using Anthropic AI tools months after blacklisting company, BBC told

Sources familiar with the way the technology is used said analysts and other defence officials rely on Maven to access and organise visual data, including satellite imagery and drone footage.

The data was then fed into Claude and other large language models for tasks such as identifying potential military targets.

Officials frequently used the technology when compiling one-page briefs that were passed up the chain of command, according to a source who was given a demonstration of Maven by Palantir earlier this year.

Recent private demonstrations of Maven for government officials have also included Claude, another person familiar with Maven said.

The Maven system is deployed “across the entire department”, Cameron Stanley, who leads AI work within the defence department, said during a demonstration of Maven earlier this year.

Maven is also used by some US allies to share intelligence with the Trump administration.

A current defence department official touted Maven’s role in intelligence sharing in the war with Iran during a private briefing with industry leaders in Washington last week, according to a former US official who participated in the meeting.

Anthropic’s clash with the Pentagon comes as relations with the White House appear to be warming. Trump met with Anthropic boss Dario Amodei twice at the White House last week.

After one of the meetings with Trump and other technology leaders, Amodei said he still had concerns about risks posed by AI.

“How we address those risks is still under discussion,” Amodei told reporters at the White House, as Trump stood by his side, but “if we work with the president, we can win safely”.

Trump then proceeded to praise Amodei, saying he was “great” and “fantastic.”