The key facts
- Palantir: the Maven Smart System has no 'kill switch'; clients fully control the software they purchase
- The Starlink/Starshield outages on October 13 sparked disputes: Kyiv blamed Washington, Musk pointed to the military and the president, Trump denies everything
- France and Germany declined Maven; France is developing its own Arcadia system
Palantir's statement against the backdrop of Starlink outages
The American company Palantir sought to reassure its European allies, assuring them that its military AI system used by NATO has no remote shutdown mechanism. Louis Mosley, Palantir's Executive Vice President for the UK and Europe, told Reuters on Wednesday in Brussels that neither the company nor the US government can shut down the Maven Smart System platform used by NATO's military command and a number of European armies. 'What we have been reading in the news about Starlink in recent days is extremely alarming,' Mosley said. 'But as for Palantir, I can categorically assure you: where clients have purchased our software, they have full control over its operation.' According to him, 'no kill switches exist.'
Starlink outages and mutual accusations
The statement came after outages in the Starlink and Starshield services in Ukraine, which heightened concerns about dependence on American tech companies. On October 13, Kyiv accused Washington of deliberately slowing down Starshield — the military communications system operated by SpaceX, on which Ukrainian troops on the front line depend, as well as the civilian Starlink network. Later, reports emerged that the White House had ordered Ukraine's access to Starshield to be restricted. Elon Musk stated on X that 'the Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government,' and that restrictions are set by the American military and ultimately the president. Donald Trump responded: 'it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon. I don't even know if it was anyone. As far as I know, everything works the same as before.' Who made the decision on the restrictions remains unclear.
Europe's concerns and some countries' refusal of Maven
For European leaders, according to Euronews, the prospect of the Trump administration using American technology as a political lever of pressure on allies is even more alarming. NATO uses Maven — an AI system that processes data from satellites, radars, drones and other sensors to speed up decision-making. In 2025, Palantir won a NATO tender worth 480 million euros; the system has been deployed at the Allied Operations Command at SHAPE and reached 'full technical operational readiness' in June 2026. A number of alliance members, including France and Germany, have refused Maven, fearing excessive influence of a private company on combat operations. 'Providing industry representatives with access to national German data sets is out of the question,' said German Navy Vice Admiral Thomas Daum. France has developed its own Arcadia service to preserve technological sovereignty.
