Anthropic says Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen tried to use its Claude artificial intelligence service to develop advanced weapons, including guided rockets and missiles. The company said it identified and blocked the accounts after detecting the activity in northern Yemen.
According to Anthropic, the users were part of a cell in northern Yemen running at least three weapons-development programs. The company said the group used Claude to help write guidance, navigation and control software for airborne weapons, work that would normally require a team of engineers.
Anthropic said the programs included a guided rocket using a commodity phone-class flight computer, a multi-stage ballistic missile with a stated range goal of more than 2,000 kilometers, and a multi-variant missile that included a hypersonic glide vehicle version. The company also said the group attempted a test launch of a guided rocket, but it failed, and the suspects later returned to Claude to analyze the failure.
Anthropic said there is no evidence the group succeeded in fielding an operational weapon. The company said it shared its findings with government and industry partners as part of its efforts to prevent illegal use of its AI tools.
