André Loesekrug-Pietri, head of the European innovation agency Jedi, states in a Handelsblatt interview that the US is using artificial intelligence on a large scale for the first time in the Gulf War against Iran. The "Maven" platform developed by Palantir fundamentally changes the conflict. He urges Europe to catch up technologically.
In Munich, André Loesekrug-Pietri, head of the European innovation agency Jedi and former advisor to the French defense ministry, discussed the ongoing Gulf War in an interview with Handelsblatt. US President Donald Trump threatened a massive expansion of attacks on Iran after his ultimatum expired in the night to Wednesday. The US forces are deploying the AI platform "Maven," primarily developed by Palantir, for the first time.
"This fundamentally changes the war," Loesekrug-Pietri said. "It significantly increases speed – and speed is decisive in modern conflict." He criticized European arms procurement as activism: "We are investing enormous resources in the wrong areas." He particularly warned against plans for thousands of new tanks by the Bundeswehr: "Tank columns are coffins in a drone landscape."
Loesekrug-Pietri called for a rethink. Established manufacturers only further develop existing concepts in state contracts. Projects like the "Eurodrone" by Germany, France, Italy, and Spain are too late and too expensive. "There is simply a lack of courage to consistently cancel bad projects." Instead, European states should build joint data spaces and AI systems to act independently of the US and China.
