In brief

• Germany's defence firm Helsing has launched Clarity, an AI platform for processing battlefield data.
• The company positions the software as a European alternative to the American firm Palantir.
• Clarity is said to suggest targets and weapons, with a human operator approving any use of force.

A European answer to Palantir

Helsing, a defence company best known for its drones, has introduced Clarity, a software platform that uses artificial intelligence to help soldiers work through large volumes of battlefield information (Конкуренция для Palantir. Производитель дронов Helsing презентовал военную ИИ-систему Clarity – NV) (Helsing: Diese Kriegs-KI aus Deutschland macht Palantir Konkurrenz – ZEIT ONLINE). According to the company, the system can process sensor data, flag potential military targets and recommend suitable weapons. Helsing is based in Munich.

Built for European buyers

The company says Clarity was developed and built in Europe under European control and is aimed at governments on the continent. Helsing argues that governments increasingly question relying on American tools for critical functions. Bloomberg reported that France is moving its national intelligence service away from Palantir products toward domestic tools.

Human oversight and infrastructure

Helsing states that the platform was trained on army data and data generated by artificial intelligence, and that it runs on infrastructure owned by the customer. The company also says Clarity includes safeguards so that a human operator checks the evidence, selects targets and authorises any use of force. Reports describe a tool that can display the enemy situation in near real time (Künstliche Intelligenz: Rüstungsfirma Helsing stellt KI-Assistenten für den Krieg vor – DER SPIEGEL).

Context

The launch places Helsing in direct competition with Palantir Technologies, which already supplies intelligence software to Western militaries and agencies. Co-founder Gundbert Scherf said that all troops need intelligence capabilities that keep pace with the speed of combat.