Air Force pushing contractors to purge Anthropic by Sept. 1: Memo

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is pushing its contractors to remove all Anthropic products from their systems by September 1, a month ahead of the Department of Defense-wide deadline of September 29, according to memos obtained by Breaking Defense. The AFRL memo, sent to industry on July 9, instructs contractors to report all use of Anthropic by August 1 and complete removal by September 1 to allow for administrative processing. This directive stems from a February 27 announcement by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who declared Anthropic a supply-chain risk to national security, though the initial broad ban was later limited to defense contracts. The timeline has shifted multiple times, with the DoD CIO's April 2 memo setting the final 180-day deadline for September 29, and the AFRL's own implementation order was issued on May 21. Contractors are required to self-report compliance through a Microsoft form, though the process may be complicated by subcontracting and partnerships within the software industry.