Palantir to continue work on Army Vantage platform

Big-data company Palantir will continue to work on one of its major Army programs, Army Vantage.

The company announced Friday it earned a $116 million option year extension on its $458 million-ceiling contract it initially won in December 2019. The system is an “integrated data platform,” meaning it uses software to combine data sources from across the Army into a single common operation picture, according to Palantir.

Palantir’s contract for the Vantage program was structured as an initial base year, followed by three option years.

“The Army Vantage program is the cornerstone of the Army’s ability to make data driven decisions across the force” said Doug Philippone, global defense lead at Palantir Technologies. “This partnership reinforces what industry and government can do at speed to solve hard problems.”

Army Vantage has recently been used to track COVID-19 immunization rates, tracking weapons and monitoring soldiers behavior. It’s overall goal is to provide a central system for leaders to makers to make data-informed decisions.

“The Army Vantage platform was established to enable users to make data driven decisions, allowing the Army to leverage its data as a strategic asset,” the company said in a release.

Palantir’s says it has helped generate and integrate over 30,000 unique data sets from over 160 distinct systems since the program was launched.

Palantir’s CEO, Alex Karp, recently spoke at the Reagan National Defense Forum defending its work with the military, pushing back against sustained criticism from other tech companies.

“I think the first thing that industry needs to do is affirm that if it’s going to work with adversaries it should always supply as least as good technology to our services and people who are defending our nation,” Karp said.