France and Germany pledge European military AI platform to rival Palantir's battlefield tech

France and Germany pledge to build a European rival to Palantir's military AI software

France and Germany pledged to develop a sovereign alternative to Palantir's military software. France's Arcadia is the model. Both countries already dropped Palantir for ChapsVision. France and Germany pledged on Friday to develop a European alternative to Palantir's military AI software. A joint declaration signed after talks between Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz committed the two countries to examine "a European sovereign digital backbone" covering data-centric security, AI, and cloud solutions. France's Arcadia, an AI-powered command-and-control platform, was named as the starting point, alongside unspecified "comparable German solutions." The declaration arrives after both countries moved to drop Palantir from their intelligence services. France's DGSI announced in June it was replacing Palantir with ChapsVision's ArgonOS, six months after renewing the American firm's contract. Germany's BfV chose ChapsVision for the same role. The Bundeswehr has excluded Palantir from its defence cloud procurement entirely. A top NATO commander recently told Politico there was no real European alternative to Palantir's Maven software, which the alliance uses for battlefield data processing. Friday's declaration is Paris and Berlin's answer: build one. The joint statement also covers missiles, tanks, and space. France, Germany, and the UK will examine cooperation on long-range weapons with a 2,500-kilometre range, drawing on capabilities at ArianeGroup. The Franco-German MGCS tank programme, intended to replace the Leopard 2 and Leclerc, will launch a research programme on autonomous driving, sensors, and battlefield networking. The troubled FCAS next-generation fighter jet was notably absent from the declaration. Instead, the two countries agreed to create a "European collaborative combat standard" so fighter jets and drones from different nations can communicate in the field. Palantir's CEO Alex Karp called Germany's refusal to consider his company "conversations about witchcraft" in a Bild interview last month, arguing the software was proven on every serious battlefield. That argument has not moved Berlin. The sovereignty question is not whether Palantir's technology works, it plainly does, but whether Europe's most sensitive military infrastructure should depend on an American company at a time when transatlantic relations cannot be taken for granted. France and Germany have now put that question into a joint declaration. Whether they can turn it into working software is the harder part.

Palantir Faces Potential Setback as France, Germany Seek European Military Software Supplier - Lockheed M

The statement pointed to the French Arcadia solution "as well as comparable German solutions." The French Army has tested Arcadia in exercises as a replacement for the Maven Smart System developed by Palantir, Defense News reported. Europe is considering reducing its dependence on the US for defense and tech amid growing strain with Washington. Disagreements over Ukraine, ongoing US military operations against Iran, and trade tensions have pushed the region to turn to domestic alternatives. Arcadia Emerges as Europe's Alternative to Maven Palantir's Maven is a flagship US military AI program used for battlefield intelligence and targeting. It processes drone and sensor imagery to support real-time decision-making. Palantir said in June that it "welcomes the opportunity to integrate with Arcadia, or any other national system." The two nations also said they would create a "European collaborative combat standard." This would allow European fighter jets, combat drones and other aircraft developed by different countries to communicate and fight together. "We will develop a secure framework based on an open and modular architecture, shared interfaces and the exploration of common technological solutions providing sovereign, interoperable and scalable information sharing," they said. US Downplays Europe Defense Rethinking The US has downplayed efforts by European nations to reduce their reliance on American technology and weapons. "There is a lot of commentary that, due to alleged frustrations with the US, the American defense industrial base will lose out on the market for weaponry," US Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby posted on X on Tuesday. "But this is neither feasible nor accurate." Colby argued that there currently is "no alternative country or countries" that can compete with the US defense industrial base, "either in quantity or quality." "American companies are at the forefront of advanced technology," Colby said. "There is no credible free world alternative to American tech and its implications for defense." Europe Faces Setbacks Despite Europe's intentions, the region has faced considerable setbacks to its military efforts. Europe's joint defense programs have failed due to diverging national requirements, industrial rivalries over leadership/workshare, and shifting political priorities. The FCAS aimed to replace the countries' Eurofighter and Rafale aircraft starting from 2040. France and Germany repeated on Friday their support for a stock-market listing of tank-maker KNDS, provided market conditions are right, and both governments agree. They will jointly promote harmonized operations and innovation, helping KNDS further deliver customer-focused solutions and expand exports to partner countries. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.