Daily Report Reveals How American AI Companies Are Changing Military Operations

According to a report by Reference News Network on April 28, the Japanese website "Mainichi Shimbun" reported on April 25 that the military operations against Iran that began at the end of February, the forcible control of Venezuelan President in January, and the strict immigration enforcement—behind these actions of the Trump administration is the data support provided by the American data analytics giant Palantir Technologies. For the U.S. military, Palantir has become an indispensable presence. It provides and operates the core system for the U.S. Department of Defense's military artificial intelligence (AI) program, the "Maven Project." This system integrates AI technology from the American startup Anthropic, enabling comprehensive analysis of previously scattered massive data, instantly deducing and identifying attack targets.

According to The New York Times, once operators select a target in the system, it automatically calculates the fuel and ammunition requirements, and after comparing costs, recommends weapons and operational plans. In the weeks following the attack on Iran at the end of February, the system had already identified thousands of targets. Human intervention in the process leading to the attack has been reduced to a minimum.

"The ability to more precisely, accurately, and quickly lock onto targets, as well as the fact that the U.S. can organize the full strength of its fleet and all resources to engage in battle, has fundamentally changed the way wars are fought," Palantir CEO Alex Karp hinted in a March interview with U.S. media, suggesting that the company plays a crucial role in the military operations against Iran. Palantir claims, "The era of nuclear power has ended, and a new era of deterrence based on AI is beginning."

The company was co-founded in 2003 by Peter Thiel, co-founder of the American payment giant PayPal, and his friend Karp, among others. The company's name is derived from the "Palantir," a seeing stone in the fantasy novel "The Lord of the Rings" that can perceive all things.

Palantir has large clients from government agencies such as the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency, and it gained attention for playing a significant role in the search for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Recently, in addition to reports of its use in the forcible control of Venezuelan President Maduro in January, it was also discovered that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has a long-term contract with Palantir, uses its software to identify and track deportation targets, leading to strong criticism.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Palantir is also part of the development team for the advanced missile defense system "Iron Dome," which Trump is highly focused on. In the future, it is likely to continue to hold a central position in the defense sector.

Outside the U.S., the UK Ministry of Defense signed a contract worth £240 million in December 2025 to use Palantir's system at all classified levels in the defense sector from fiscal years 2026 to 2028. Additionally, Ukraine is reportedly using the system in its combat against Russia. (Translated by Chen Rui)