Expansion of Palantir (PLTR.US) is met with obstacles: German military openly refuses to cooperate, American-style AI defense software encounters obstacles in Europe.

A senior German military officer revealed to the media that the German armed forces are currently not planning to award a contract to the American data analysis and national defense software company Palantir (PLTR.US). Local media on Tuesday quoted Thomas Daum, who is responsible for Germany's military network defense affairs, as saying, "I currently cannot see at all that this kind of thing will happen." Daum's language is more direct than any previous diplomatic statement. Although the German military is actively seeking to use technologies like artificial intelligence to quickly analyze battlefield data in order to achieve faster data processing and tactical responses than humans, when it comes to core national databases, the bottom line is clear and nearly rigid - "Although we are very interested in the functionality that this system can provide when applied to our own databases, it is simply unimaginable to allow company personnel access to national databases." Last month, reports claimed that Palantir's artificial intelligence system will officially become a "Program of Record" at the Pentagon, thereby locking in the long-term use of the company's weapon-targeting technology across the entire US military. Palantir is experiencing a stark "two sides of the same coin" situation - in the US, its influence is soaring and deeply embedded in the military-industrial complex; but across the Atlantic in the heart of Europe, political and strategic red lights are already flashing. This not only reflects the ebbs and flows of commercial contracts but also mirrors the deep rift between Atlantic China Welding Consumables, Inc. on both sides in terms of national security, technological sovereignty, and digital trust, thus making Palantir's global expansion road more complex than expected by the market. Deep clash between European technological sovereignty and data protection Germany's resistance is not an isolated incident, but rather a defense of national data sovereignty at its core. For decision-makers in Berlin, once a technology company deeply tied to the American military and intelligence systems is introduced into national-level confidential databases, the security lifeline of German national defense is equivalent to being exposed to the regulation of another independent sovereign nation. Around the risk of whether Palantir software has the potential to "disrupt" the German data protection system, there have been intense debates within Germany for up to two years. German Minister for Digitalization, Karsten Wildberger, stated in an interview in April that Europe needs its own Palantir: "My preference is that we develop our own products and companies in Europe that are competitive in the global market... In the long run, we hope to rely on European alternatives." Germany's "pause" is not limited to a technical consideration of a military purchase. In a broader dimension of trans-Atlantic China Welding Consumables, Inc. relations, this has escalated into a systemic reflection in Europe on its "digital vassal" identity. Data shows that Palantir has been deployed in the local police systems of multiple federal states in Germany, including Bavaria, Hesse, Baden-Wrttemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, and others. However, within the core database of the Federal Armed Forces, the government's internal consensus remains quite weak. Marc Henrichmann, chairman of the Federal Parliament's Intelligence Control Committee, has pointed out the need to maintain an open attitude toward functional systems, but at the same time, build independent domestic capabilities. Social Democrat politician Sebastian Fiedler has bluntly stated that using Palantir is equivalent to "supporting a strongly anti-democratic American company in a critical technology industry" at the expense of German companies. This is also why German Minister for Digitalization Wildberger, while acknowledging that "in the foreseeable future, Europe's national security will still need to rely on Palantir," is actively promoting a roadmap to "develop local alternatives within two to three years." At a deeper level, once major contracts for the Federal Armed Forces are announced, other European countries still on the fence (such as France, the Nordic countries) are very likely to follow suit, causing a fierce policy contradiction between Europe's ambition for defense autonomy and the most readily available AI combat command systems. Palantir deeply integrated with the Pentagon: Partner in AI warfare and standing army In stark contrast to the caution in Germany and other parts of Europe, Palantir has achieved absolute penetration within the US domestic defense system. Last month, Palantir's artificial intelligence system officially became a "Program of Record" at the Pentagon, locking in the long-term use of the company's weapon-targeting technology across the entire US military. The label of "Program of Record" carries extraordinary weight in the US military procurement system. This means that Palantir's Maven intelligent system is no longer just an "experimental plug-in" attached to the US military's operational system, but is now an integral component incorporated into budgeting, long-term restructuring, and cross-service deployment. In 2024, the Pentagon awarded Palantir a contract worth up to $4.8 billion; in May 2025, the contract ceiling was raised to $13 billion; in August of the same year, the US Army signed a ten-year enterprise agreement with a potential value of up to $100 billion, fully integrating data integration, analysis, and artificial intelligence tools. In 2025, Palantir's revenue from the US government business grew by 55% year-on-year to $1.85 billion, with a 66% year-on-year increase in revenue in the fourth quarter to $570 million. US Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg stated in an internal memo to senior Pentagon officials and US military commanders on March 9 that incorporating Maven into military operations is to provide combat personnel with "the latest tools for detection, deterrence, and full control of the enemy," and emphasized the need for "immediate and focused investment to deepen the integration of AI in joint operations." At the operational level, military target identification and weapon targeting processes that previously took hours have been compressed to seconds under Palantir's algorithm drive. Behind the strategic choices moving in opposite directions between Atlantic China Welding Consumables, Inc., one led by the US with the route of "AI first testing, risk afterwards" and the other insisted by Europe on "rule first, technology follow-up," there is an irreconcilable structural contradiction. Sky-high valuation logic: Dual driving force of capital markets and military-industrial complex, Palantir is the AI "standard answer" for the US military In the capital markets, Palantir has become a benchmark for the national defense AI race. As of Monday, Palantir's stock price closed at $143.10, with a market value exceeding $340 billion. Institutional judgments on Palantir are highly divergent - bullish investors believe that the company has transitioned from a "project-based tool provider" to a "digital foundation" for the entire Western defense system; while bearish investors are closely monitoring its astonishingly high valuation multiples (a P/E ratio of over 220 times). However, the strong fundamentals are undeniably clear. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Palantir's total revenue soared to $14 billion, marking a 70% year-on-year growth, and achieving accelerating growth for the tenth consecutive quarter. Its US commercial sector growth was particularly rapid, with quarterly revenue skyrocketing by 137% to $507 million, surpassing even the high-growth US government business. Full-year revenue in 2025 surged by 56% to $4.4 billion, with management providing a revenue guidance for 2026 of as high as $7.19 billion, an expected increase of 61%. The language style of Palantir executives is quietly changing as well. In an internal discussion with investors and the media, CEO Alex Karp directly implied that European countries that are stuck in bureaucracy and "flawed data protection awareness" are missing out on the national security window defined by AI. Palantir's Chief Technology Officer, Shyam Sankar, revealed during his testimony to the US House Armed Services Committee that the Maven project now has "tens of thousands of users" and urged Congress to provide more funding. The "Golden Dome" - a signature missile defense project promoted by the Trump administration with a total investment of $185 billion - has also selected Palantir as one of the key software developers. In the Middle Eastern battlefield, the Maven system has evolved from a decision support tool to a substantive battlefield management engine. During the so-called "Operation Epic Fury," the highly artificial intelligence-driven system enabled the US military to complete intelligence integration and target locking that previously took hours in a matter of seconds.