Maven becomes the default AI layer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Maven is command and control software that ingests data from satellites<\/a>, drones, radars, sensors, and intelligence reports, then uses AI to help surface potential threats and targets. The Pentagon\u2019s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office describes Maven Smart System as a tactical platform for real time object detection, tracking, and decision support in combat operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Feinberg\u2019s letter orders oversight to move from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency<\/a> to the Pentagon AI office within 30 days, with the Army set to manage future contracting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reuters reported Maven has been used in operations tied to thousands of recent targeted strikes against Iran, which shows how quickly software can shift from \u201cpilot\u201d to \u201cinfrastructure.\u201d Palantir says the software does not make lethal decisions and humans remain responsible for selecting and approving targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Palantir, the designation is a business milestone as much as a Pentagon one. Reuters reported the company has landed a stream of government awards, including a U.S. Army deal worth up to $10 billion, helping lift its market value to nearly $360 billion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A \u201cprogram of record\u201d can also make budgeting and procurement simpler for the services, which is how vendors turn a contract into a long runway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The messy part is what sits inside the stack. Reuters has reported that Maven relies in part on Anthropic\u2019s Claude, and the Pentagon recently labeled Anthropic a supply chain risk, ordering a phase out that users say will be difficult and disruptive to execute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If a core model has to be swapped out, it is rarely a clean plug and play moment, especially in systems that must be recertified for classified use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The energy side is not theoretical. The International Energy Agency estimates data centers<\/a> consumed about 415 terawatt hours of electricity in 2024, around 1.5 percent of global power use, and projects demand could roughly double to about 945 terawatt hours by 2030. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the U.S., Pew Research Center<\/a> summarized IEA estimates showing data centers used about 183 terawatt hours in 2024, more than 4 percent of national electricity, with a projection of 426 terawatt hours by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When demand rises that fast, someone has to build power plants, upgrade transmission<\/a>, or both, and that can get pricey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reuters recently reported AI driven data center growth is already reshaping clean energy buying, pushing up long term power purchase agreement prices as demand climbs and project supply tightens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In everyday terms, it is another large load competing for the same electrons that keep homes cool in summer and factories running year round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then there is the military\u2019s own emissions baseline. A 2025 study in PLOS Climate reported that, based on Department of Defense figures, DoD Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions totaled more than 636 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent from 2010 to 2019, and the authors note this is conservative because it excludes Scope 3 supply chain emissions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Separate research from the Conflict and Environment Observatory and Scientists for Global Responsibility estimated the global military carbon footprint<\/a> at about 5.5 percent of worldwide emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The debate over AI in targeting usually centers on law and ethics, not ecology, but the lines are starting to blur. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The United Nations notes Secretary General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres has called lethal autonomous weapons systems<\/a> \u201cpolitically unacceptable and morally repugnant,\u201d and has urged states to agree on a binding instrument by 2026 to prohibit systems that function without human control or oversight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The UN Security Council has also warned that AI is outpacing governance and could threaten human control<\/a> over weapons systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Environmental damage is part of that same picture, because conflicts often hit energy infrastructure and industrial sites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In a March 13 statement, the United Nations Environment Programme warned that large oil fires and spills can cause extensive contamination and pose serious health risks from smoke, particulates, and toxic emissions, with effects that can linger long after the fighting slows. AI does not create those pollutants, but a faster tempo can raise the stakes for how often targets are generated, reviewed, and struck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the months ahead, the big tell will be what the Pentagon measures, not just what it buys. If Maven becomes a permanent layer of U.S. warfighting, transparency on energy use, emissions, and environmental harm will matter almost as much as speed and accuracy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The official statement was published on UNEP<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Pentagon is preparing to make Palantir\u2019s Maven Smart System an official \u201cprogram of record,\u201d a move that typically cements … <\/p>\nAlso Read: The deployment of the USS Nimitz in South America reignites a military exercise that Argentina continues to watch closely<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Palantir\u2019s win and a supply chain snag<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
AI\u2019s power appetite meets a military climate footprint<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Human control, environmental harm, and what comes next<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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