The U.S. Department of Defense has told its senior leaders that if the use of Anthropic's AI tools is deemed critical to national security, it can continue to be used after the previously announced six-month phase-out period, according to an internal memo obtained by the media. The memo was signed on March 6 by Defense Department Chief Information Officer Kristin Davis.
The memo said the waivers could be approved in "rare and exceptional circumstances" and would be "considered only for mission-critical activities that directly support national security operations and for which no feasible alternatives exist."
The document shows that any Pentagon unit seeking a waiver must submit a comprehensive risk mitigation plan for approval.
One expert said the memo's exceptions showed how challenging it would be to ban Anthropic outright.
Franklin Turner, a government contracts lawyer at McCarter & English, said the memo "acknowledges the fact that it will be difficult for most suppliers to guarantee that they have completely removed the company from the entire supply chain." For example, contractors may have difficulty ensuring that their software does not contain any open source code derived from Anthropic.
"I expect to see a lot of exemption applications," he added.
The memo follows weeks of heated debate over the technical safeguards for the military's use of Anthropic's artificial intelligence tools. Ultimately, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth classified the company as a supply chain risk and banned the Pentagon and its contractors from using its products.
On Monday local time, Anthropic filed a lawsuit in an attempt to prevent the Pentagon from implementing the ban.
The memo also directs officials to prioritize the removal of Anthropic's products from systems that support critical missions, such as nuclear weapons and ballistic missile defense systems.
The memo also reiterates that the ban applies to defense contractors. The memorandum gives Pentagon contracting officials 30 days to notify contractors, who must demonstrate full compliance with the ban within a 180-day period.