Credit: Salvador Rios on Unsplash
Palantir says neither it nor the US government can remotely shut down Maven, its AI-powered battlefield system used by NATO’s top military command.
The assurance comes as European countries question how much control they have over US-made defence technology, with some developing their own alternatives.
Louis Mosley, who leads Palantir’s UK and European operations, made the comments in a Reuters interview in Brussels on Wednesday.
He said customers remain in control of the software, including how they operate it.
“There are no kill switches,” Mosley told Reuters. “It can absolutely be operated independently of us,” he added.
Customers decide whether Palantir employees help run the system, Mosley said. Where they are, those staff are citizens of the country using the software and hold the required security clearance.
Maven combines data from satellites, radar and other sensors to give military officers a clearer picture of the battlefield and help them make decisions faster.
NATO acquired the system for its Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in March 2025, following a six-month procurement process, according to the alliance’s IT agency.
NATO declared the system fully technically capable on 22 June 2026. Neither NATO nor Palantir has disclosed the contract value.
Mosley’s comments follow reports that the US restricted Ukraine’s access to Starshield, SpaceX’s military satellite communications service.
Last week, equipment used on fast-moving Ukrainian drones reportedly stopped working, making it harder for Ukrainian forces to counter Russian attacks.
Two US officials and a Western official told Defense News that the order to limit access originated inside the White House.
A senior US official disputed that account, saying the president had never requested the restriction.
“What we have seen in the news over the past few days around Starlink is extremely concerning,” Mosley told Reuters.
The episode has added to European concerns about relying on US technology for critical military operations.
Germany and France have so far declined to adopt Maven for their own armed forces, Reuters reported, citing concerns about dependence on an American supplier.
In April, Thomas Daum, head of the German army’s cyber command, ruled out using Palantir’s technology for now. He told Handelsblatt that giving company employees access to the military’s national database was out of the question.
France is also moving away from Palantir, as its domestic intelligence agency transitions to ChapsVision, a French software company, in search of a homegrown alternative.
Mosley said many of Palantir’s military and commercial customers already operate the company’s software independently.
The question for European governments, however, is whether technical independence is enough to address their broader concerns about control over critical defence systems.
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