# DoD Upholds Anthropic Blacklisting

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has upheld the Department of Defense's decision to blacklist AI startup Anthropic from military contracts due to national security concerns. The court affirmed the Pentagon's position that Anthropic's refusal to remove safety guardrails on its AI technology could compromise critical defense operations, particularly autonomous weapons and surveillance systems. This ruling reinforces the DoD's authority to exclude vendors based on supply chain risk and operational reliability, despite ongoing legal challenges and conflicting lower court opinions.

- **Why this matters:** Defense contractors and AI technology providers should recognize the DoD's firm stance on operational control and security requirements for AI systems in military applications.
- The decision signals increased scrutiny on AI vendors' compliance with defense operational needs, potentially affecting contract eligibility.
- Procurement professionals should evaluate vendor risk profiles carefully, especially regarding AI safety features that may conflict with military use cases.
- Companies developing AI for defense should consider aligning technology capabilities with DoD operational expectations to avoid exclusion from future contracts.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Defense & Military, Information Technology
**Topics:** Artificial Intelligence, Regulatory Compliance
**Published:** September 25, 2026

### Government Entities
- Department of Defense (DoD)
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
- U.S. District Court, San Francisco

### Vendors
- Anthropic (blacklisted AI startup)

### Key Quotes
> Because Anthropic was willing and able to enforce contractual restrictions through model training, the Department reasonably worried that critical defense system supported by Claude might fail to engage as the Department would expect.
> — Gregory Kastas, Circuit Judge

> The Secretary raises the deeply sobering prospect of overly constrained AI models shutting down unexpectedly and thus causing important military operations to fail.
> — Judge Gregory Katsas

### Sources
- [US appeals court upholds Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic](https://www.defensenews.com/news/pentagon-congress/2026/09/25/us-appeals-court-upholds-pentagons-blacklisting-of-anthropic) - defensenews.com
- [US appeals court upholds Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic](https://www.federaltimes.com/defense/2026/09/25/us-appeals-court-upholds-pentagons-blacklisting-of-anthropic) - federaltimes.com
- [D.C. appeals court sides with Pentagon on blacklisting Anthropic](https://thehill.com/policy/technology/6111414-dc-circuit-upholds-anthropic-blacklist) - The Hill