A NATO commander has warned that Europe currently has no viable alternative to Palantir’s battlefield artificial intelligence technology, highlighting the alliance’s continued dependence on U.S. defense systems.
Adm. Pierre Vandier, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, told POLITICO that the alliance moved quickly to adopt Palantir’s Maven Smart System in March 2025, purchasing it to improve intelligence gathering, targeting, battlespace awareness, planning, and AI-assisted military decision-making.
He said NATO chose an “off-the-shelf” solution already used by the United States because it was the fastest way to meet urgent operational needs. According to Vandier, there is currently “no real competitor” to Palantir capable of delivering similar capabilities quickly enough for NATO’s requirements.
The system has already been installed at NATO command centres in the Netherlands and Belgium. The procurement process, completed in around six months, was among the fastest in the alliance’s history.
However, the purchase has intensified concerns in Europe about dependence on American defense technology and the continent’s limited ability to develop its own alternatives.
Vandier acknowledged those concerns but said European governments and companies seeking alternatives must prove they can deliver workable systems rapidly. He described the development of military AI systems as a technological “race” in which relevance and speed matter more than long-term promises.
He also said Europe’s broader challenge stems from decades of underinvestment in key digital infrastructure, including cloud computing and semiconductor production, leaving the continent reliant on foreign technology in several critical sectors.
Vandier argued that Europe’s most realistic short-term goal is not complete technological independence, but greater control over its own data, intellectual property, and decisions about how information is shared.
