AWS maps Claude 5.5 access across Bedrock endpoints in GovCloud

AWS has outlined how government and regulated customers can use Anthropic’s Claude Opus 5.5 and Claude Sonnet 5.5 through Amazon Bedrock in AWS GovCloud (US). The models run through two endpoint surfaces, each with different regional coverage, interfaces and logging support.

AWS first posted an availability notice for Opus 5.5 on September 22, followed by a separate notice for Sonnet 5.5 on September 28. Its October 5 technical post brings the two models together with deployment guidance for Claude Code.

Regional coverage differs by surface. AWS says bedrock-runtime is available for the models in AWS GovCloud (US-West) and AWS GovCloud (US-East), while bedrock-mantle is available in GovCloud (US-West). Amazon Bedrock itself is offered in both GovCloud regions. The split adds to AWS’s regional Claude deployment options through Bedrock.

The bedrock-runtime endpoint supports AWS SDK access through InvokeModel and Converse. It also connects to Bedrock Guardrails, Knowledge Bases, Agents and invocation logging. AWS recommends this surface for most new applications, particularly deployments that need audit trails.

The bedrock-mantle endpoint provides native access to Anthropic’s Messages API. AWS says it also exposes server-side tools, background inference and Projects that are currently available only through that surface. AWS’s invocation logging documentation says logging captures calls through bedrock-runtime, but not calls through bedrock-mantle.

AWS lists both Claude 5.5 models as FedRAMP Class D, formerly High, certified on Amazon Bedrock in AWS GovCloud. That certification is distinct from Department of Defense Impact Level authorization. The October 5 post does not attribute DoD IL4 or IL5 authorization to Opus 5.5 or Sonnet 5.5; it points instead to Claude Sonnet 5 as the option with both FedRAMP Class D certification and DoD IL4/IL5 authorization.

Availability alone does not let an organization invoke the models. AWS’s deployment guidance requires a GovCloud account with Bedrock access, access enabled for the selected model and endpoint-specific IAM permissions.

The guidance also draws a boundary between the managed inference layer and the developer client. AWS says Amazon Bedrock secures the inference layer, while Claude Code runs on local developer machines and requires its own organizational security assessment and controls.