Defense firms navigate Anthropic-Pentagon quarrel

Driving the news: Axios asked 14 big-name defense contractors about their dealings with Anthropic as well as whether and how they use Claude.

• Northrop Grumman said it has "very limited use of Claude" but would not continue the "pilot effort." The AI space, it said, is "rapidly changing."
• Leidos said it employs a "range of commercial AI tools" and has licensed Claude for "limited use." The company is "prepared to adjust" its "technology stack as required" to match government policy.
• HII said it does not have a relationship with Anthropic.
• Both RTX and L3Harris Technologies declined to comment.
• Others, including Anduril Industries, BAE Systems and GE Aerospace, did not respond by deadline.

Flashback: The Defense Department last week probed Boeing and Lockheed Martin's exposure to Anthropic. At the time, a source familiar told Axios the department would reach out to "all the traditional primes."

• Boeing is the seventh-largest defense contractor in the world ranked by defense revenue. Lockheed is first.

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