Air Force Research Laboratory directs contractors to remove Anthropic products by Sept. 1 while DoD extends overall deadline to Sept. 29

The Air Force Research Laboratory directed its contractors on July 9 to remove all Anthropic products and services from their systems by Sept. 1, according to a memo obtained by Breaking Defense. Contractors must identify any Anthropic use and report it by Aug.

1. The memo states that the earlier date allows time for administrative processing and contract modifications to meet the broader Defense Department deadline. A separate April 2, 2026, memo from DoD Chief Information Officer Kirsten Davies set the department-wide removal deadline at 180 days from that date, resulting in Sept.

29. An earlier March 6 memo from Davies had set an 180-day deadline that would have expired Sept. 2. The April memo removed language from the March version that described Anthropic as an unacceptable supply chain risk.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the ban on Feb. 27, stating on X.com that Anthropic posed a supply-chain risk to national security and that no contractor doing business with the U.S. military could conduct commercial activity with the company.

The original six-month deadline from that announcement fell on Aug. 27. The Air Force issued its own implementing order on May 21 that referenced the DoD CIO directive. The July 9 AFRL memo notes that contractors who already responded to a prior notification may disregard the new notice.

Compliance reporting is handled through a form hosted by Microsoft. Anthropic has filed lawsuits against the Department of Defense to overturn the ban. The Wall Street Journal reported a major release of executives' private communications with Pentagon leaders related to the lawsuits.