Geopolitics, in general, is a complicated game. Especially if the countries whose influence you want to distance yourself from only control the basic technology to arm your military. The Spanish Defense Ministry checked it when it sought to sever its military ties with Israel, and now it is implementing it again without renewing a military intelligence contract with Palantir’s Gotham program, according to what it announced. Vanguard.
The move is part of the government’s intention to gain greater national sovereignty in sensitive areas such as defence. It sounds good on paper, but taking it to a military intelligence center is a whole different story.
A deal for Palantir without competition. In October 2023, the Department of Defense signed an agreement with Palantir to use the Gotham program’s technology in the Armed Forces Intelligence Center, in a negotiated process with the acting government and without publicity. The tender started at 16.5 million Euros and was raised to 19.5 million Euros in subsequent updates.
Palantir was born in 2003 to help US intelligence agencies fight terrorism, and its main business is selling data analysis software. According to the company, Gotham “provides an attack chain based on artificial intelligence.”
Breakup in slow motion. It cannot be said that the government’s break with Palantir comes as news to us. As I have gathered confidentialIn early July, Moncloa asked companies in which SEPI participated (Telefonica, Indra, Navantia or Corios) not to sign new contracts with Palantir. There was no official position on the movement but the order had already terminated some contracts with the Civil Guard and the American company Navantia.
There was the deal that really mattered: the defense deal. This pledge expires in November, so the easiest and most “diplomatic” route was not to renew it. Gotham is a highly advanced weapon, so the Chiefs of General Staff pressured Margarita Robles to renew it, as there was no equivalent.
Two candidates who have not yet measured. As I have gathered VanguardThe government’s plan to replace the Palantir program involves Indra and Telefónica. Indra introduced IndraMind in October 2025 as “a digital brain that allows systems to think, decide and anticipate”. At the last MWC in Barcelona, Telefonica showed a command and control post for emergency, security and defense.
But experts believe these products don’t come close to Palantir’s technological level. Indra estimates that Indramind will have a turnover of 1,000 million euros in 2030. In contrast, Palantir earned $1,935 million in the second quarter of this year alone.
French mirror and NATO weight. Spain is not the first to step in that direction, betting on a project based on its own technological sovereignty, France has already gone through it. On June 16, Sébastien Lecornu announced that his General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) would exchange Palanti for the French Chapsvision. However, DGSI renewed the contract for three years six months ago and the migration will last for two years. ChapsVision has a turnover of around 200 million a year.
Not helping either is NATO, which bought Palantir’s Maven Smart Systems in March 2025. A few months ago it upgraded it to an operating system for its military data with the approval of all allies, including Spain The US military has signed a contract worth up to $10 billion.
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Picture | Flickr (Corey Doctorow, World Economic Forum), Magnificent
