Admiral Pierre Vandier, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT), says European companies and governments must prove they can quickly provide alternatives to American technologies.
NATO acquired the AI-enabled Maven Smart System from Palantir, the controversial US data analytics and defense company, in March 2025 to modernize planning and decision-making.
“As far as I know, today there is no real competitor for Palantir,” Vandier recently told Politico.
The purchase came amid deteriorating relations between Europe and the Donald Trump administration, prompting European capitals to rethink their military and technological dependence on the US.
The concerns range from the US accessing sensitive European data to a potential “kill switch” scenario in which Washington could order American companies to disable technologies used in Europe.
In 2025, the Spanish government canceled its plans to buy F-35 fighter jets, manufactured by American company Lockheed Martin, in favor of European alternatives, despite the Pentagon’s reassurances that the jets don’t have a “kill switch” installed.
Vandier told Politico that European companies and governments must prove that the alternatives they seek can be delivered quickly.
“It’s a race. It’s the ability of Europeans to show that they are able to provide something which is relevant in a matter of months, years, and not a decade,” he said.
However, some governments appear to be successful at finding alternatives. The German domestic intelligence agency has recently chosen French data and AI operating software ArgonOS, made by ChapsVision, instead of Palantir.
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Earlier in 2026, the German military’s cyber defense chief, Thomas Daum, said the country’s armed forces do not plan to award contracts to Palantir.
Palantir’s controversy stems from the company’s involvement in US government surveillance and defense programs.
Moreover, its software has been used in international conflicts, such as the US attacks on Iran, raising concerns over the dire consequences of AI-based decision-making.
Vandier warned that Europe’s debate over digital sovereignty often blurs several separate problems, including dependence on single suppliers, reliance on non-European infrastructure, and control over data.
He said that NATO’s most immediate issue is avoiding dependence on a single supplier, a risk that could be reduced by pushing companies toward interoperable systems.
In addition, Vandier said that NATO is building open digital systems that allow multiple companies to plug into alliance networks, Politico reports.
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