Palantir says NATO's AI system has no 'kill switch'
Palantir's European chief said neither the firm nor the US government can remotely shut down the Maven AI system used by NATO, after disruptions to Ukraine's Starshield satellite service alarmed European officials.
Palantir, the American software company whose Maven Smart System artificial intelligence is used by NATO's military headquarters, said on Wednesday it has no ability to switch the system off, seeking to reassure European governments worried about dependence on US technology.
Louis Mosley, Palantir's executive vice-president for the UK and Europe, told Reuters in Brussels that neither the company nor the US government could reach into the Maven platform and deactivate it once a customer had bought it. "There are no kill switches," he said. "There's no ability for Palantir or the US government to reach in and switch it off."
His comments followed days of disruption to Ukraine's Starshield and Starlink satellite services, which Kyiv said on 13 October had been deliberately slowed by Washington, hampering the use of against Russian attacks. Reports said Elon Musk's SpaceX had been ordered by the White House to restrict Ukraine's access; Musk said the US military, and ultimately President Donald Trump, controlled such limits, while Trump denied giving the order.
Ukrainian and European officials have said they suspect the restriction was a political response after Trump asked Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, fuelling concern in Europe that the continent depends too heavily on US defence technology that could be switched off or scaled back.
NATO bought Maven in 2025 for its Allied Command Operations at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, and said in June the system had reached "full technical operational capability". Several European members, including Germany and France, have not adopted it for their own forces. Germany's cyber command chief said in April it was "out of the question" for staff of a private company to access the country's national military database; France has built its own system, called Arcadia.
Mosley said it was "entirely at the customer's discretion" whether Palantir staff were involved in operating the system, adding that such staff would be nationals of the country concerned and hold the necessary security clearance.
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What we know
- Palantir says neither it nor the US government can shut down or access NATO's Maven AI system once it has been bought.
- The reassurance follows disruption to Ukraine's Starshield and Starlink satellite services, which Kyiv said was deliberately slowed.
- NATO bought Maven in 2025 for SHAPE; the system reached full operational capability in June.
- Germany and France have not adopted Maven for their own forces, citing dependence concerns; France has built its own system, Arcadia.
Why it matters for Europe
Maven processes satellite, radar and sensor data for NATO's military headquarters and several European armed forces, speeding up battlefield decisions, so doubts about who ultimately controls it matter beyond one company's reassurance. The concern comes directly from the Starshield and Starlink disruption affecting Ukraine, which European and Ukrainian officials have linked to US political pressure over strikes on Russian refineries.
Sources
Reported by 7 reports from 7 independent outlets in 3 countries.
- Digi24: Palantir afirmă că nu poate opri sistemul de AI al NATO, în contextul în care europenii se tem de dependența de tehnologia americană
- MIA: Компанијата „Палантир“ уверува дека САД не можат далечински да го исклучат воениот систем со вештачка интелигенција што го користи НАТО
- Antena M: Palantir tvrdi da ne može isključiti NATO sistem AI, Evropa strahuje zbog zavisnosti od američke tehnologije
- Plusinfo: „ПАЛАНТИР“ НЕ МОЖЕ ДА ГО ИСКЛУЧИ ВОЕНИОТ СИСТЕМ ШТО МУ ГО ПРОДАДЕ НА НАТО Компанијата уверува дека ниту американската влада нема пристап
- Omni: Palantir: Finns ingen ”kill switch” för Europa
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Questions and answers
- What is Palantir's Maven system?
- An AI platform that processes satellite, radar and sensor data to build a picture of the battlefield for NATO's military headquarters and several European armed forces.
- Why are Europeans concerned?
- Recent disruptions to Ukraine's US-run Starshield and Starlink satellite services raised fears that Washington could restrict military technology on which Europe depends.
- Which countries have not adopted Maven?
- Germany and France have opted out, citing concerns about relying on a private US company for military data; France has built its own system, Arcadia.
This article was written with AI assistance from 7 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.