American technology company Palantir said that neither it nor the US government can remotely shut down the military artificial intelligence system Maven Smart System, used by NATO and several European armed forces.
The statement comes after controversy over restrictions on the Starshield military service in Ukraine. Kiev reported that terminals used on fast-moving platforms had stopped working. Starshield uses SpaceX’s Starlink constellation.
American and Ukrainian officials, as well as Elon Musk, gave different explanations for the outage. Ukrainian and European officials suggested the restriction may have been politically motivated, as it coincided with US President Donald Trump's pressure on Ukraine to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries.
„There are no kill switches“
„There are no kill switches“, said Louis Mosley, Palantir's executive vice president for the UK and Europe.
According to him, customers who have purchased the software have full operational control over it. Mosley assured that the system can be managed independently of Palantir and the US government. If necessary, company employees can participate in its work, but this depends on the customer and requires the appropriate access permission.
How the system works
The Maven Smart System processes large volumes of data from satellites, radars and other sensors. The goal is to give military commanders a unified picture of the battlefield and make decisions faster.
The system is used to integrate intelligence, monitor the situation, plan and support targeting processes. NATO acquired Maven in 2025, and in June 2026 the system reached full technical operational readiness.
Palantir presents the software as a tool that can be operated without constant intervention from the company. This is an attempt to address concerns that an American technology company could disrupt access to key defense infrastructure.
European concerns remain
Germany and France have not implemented Maven for their own armed forces. In April, the head of Germany's cyber command said the country would not buy the system because it considered it unacceptable for employees of a private company to have access to a national military database.
The Starshield controversy has intensified the debate in Europe about reliance on American technology for defense. Despite Palantir's assurances, decisions to use such systems will depend on how much individual countries accept the technical, operational and political risks.
Sources: reuters.com, au.marketscreener.com