Britain's Ministry of Defence signs on the dotted line with Palantir

The UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has directly awarded a £240.6 million contract to US technology company Palantir to continue to licence and support its data analytics work. The MoD signed the three-year deal, starting on 1 April, with the company’s UK unit on 30 December. A contract notice published on 23 January describes …

[Dan 55]

The exact opposite of what everyone else in Europe is doing

Well that'll be just fine when Trump's Christian soldiers invade Greenland.

[Like a badger]

Re: The exact opposite of what everyone else in Europe is doing

Indeed. The rampant and repeated stupidity of the British government is enough to make you weep. Every other country is realising that the USA is not an ally, not trustworthy, and that data sovereignty (and security) are vital, yet what do the cretins of MoD do? They spend yet more millions with an inherently untrustworthy US company to process critical military information. Maybe if our government weren't a bunch of talent free humanities graduate squabbling over who their leader should be, then their replacements would have time to think about important stuff.

And "important stuff" doesn't include shit like local government reorganisation, snatching control of the police for a shit-head home secretary, banning pavement parking, carpeting the land with solar farms, etc etc....

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: The exact opposite of what everyone else in Europe is doing

Not sure why a humanities graduate *should* be any less capable of spotting the obvious risk than The Register's IT/tech-grad-heavy readership, but other than that... yeah.

Thiel is a creepy, fascist neo-feudalist, someone who has said he no longer believes in democracy, the type of tech bro who believes in one-way libertarianism for the super rich and powerful likes of himself, but will happily see the bulk of ordinary people who get in his way crushed and oppressed.

And very close to, and in sync with, the Trump regime that considers its "allies" to be little more than peons in America's would-be sphere of influence.

The exact type of thing that recent events have made clear the UK and Europe *have* to be moving away from for their own security.

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Re: The exact opposite of what everyone else in Europe is doing

"squabbling over who their leader should be"

Frequent regicide was an affliction of the Unionist and Conservative Party. It seems to have spread to the other parties.

[Disgusted of Cheltenham]

Re: The exact opposite of what everyone else in Europe is doing

Prompt and efficient pruning of those not performing acceptably (as viewed by the party) hardly seems to be an affliction.

"not drawing on information available to him from working for the government to provide his new employer with an unfair advantage over competitors" seems irrelevant if no competitors were allowed.

[Jason Bloomberg]

Re: The exact opposite of what everyone else in Europe is doing

I have to admit grudging admiration for the Labour Party - Whenever I think they have knocked the final nail into their coffin they always manage to find another.

[Anonymous Coward]

We should be decoupling from US Tech giants

Absolute insanity that we are still tying ourselves to US Tech giants in the current enivonment. EU and UK should decouple ASAP from an unreliable partner that is threatening to invade European territory

[Aldnus]

Re: We should be decoupling from US Tech giants

How many uk companies in IT with no external ties can sign off a risk of over 500 million, as usually itll be contract plus exit payments, thats the issue is a company or corporation big enoough to take that risk.

[RPF]

Re: We should be decoupling from US Tech giants

Risks can be insured.

[cyberdemon]

£240.6 million contract .. to continue to licence and support its data analytics work.

"To continue to license.."

In other words: Palantir's got us by the goolies. We're locked in now, and they can name whatever ridiculous price they like

.. Will the system even function when it comes to crunch time? Or will it be used as a weapon against us

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: £240.6 million contract .. to continue to licence and support its data analytics work.

Be curious on what the data analytics it is reporting on to need £1/4bn spent on it in 3 years.

Operational Hours for Ajax Troop Transports…..

Not near Zero, actual Zero….. and likely to stay that way for another 5 years. <Just junk itand buy some Toyota HiLux’s>

[elsergiovolador]

Pale tier

As someone said they seem to be like a SAP with good PR.

MoD probably creamed themselves hearing about all the crazy tech mumbo jumbo they have.

I wouldn't be surprised if next time MoD signs a contract for magic beans.

[Anonymous Coward]

Overpaid, Over-sexed And Over Here!

See title!

All three need to be fixed!

[Woodnag]

The real reason is hiding in plain sight

"...data analytics capabilities supporting critical strategic, tactical and live operational decision making across classifications across defense and interoperable with Nato and other allied nations Palantir systems"

"data analytics ... across classifications"

UK Army is involved in population surveillance and protest management.

"Visit Scarfolk today. Our number one priority is keeping rabies at bay." https://scarfolk.blogspot.com/

[Anonymous Coward]

Enron with der goose-schteppin'

Just another nation that will bailout this company when it turns out 1+1 = 2 and no amount of repression changes that.

One should remember the Nazis created a similar economy of brutalizing non reactionary elements. Worked so well it turned Germany into two Germanys.

[VoiceOfTruth]

More data for the USA

Despite the tariffs and threat of war against allies. Hmmm.

Britain is a carcass. Sold off by the Tories, and carried on by Tory-lite Labour.

[cookiecutter]

Re: More data for the USA

nothing the british state loves more than handing over tax payer money to companies that aren't british & cause the uk government to get LESS money. india, china, US, philippines? Want our jobs & want to beat our domestic firms into the ground & drive wages here for even the most technical positions into inevitable minimum wage? Don't stress about WHOSE in charge... the civil service will ensure that YOU win every contract, get every job, every visa, every company you want to buy & you can even offshore your profits to reduce your rates to zero!

don't worry about the plebs.... they're so brainwashed we'll just tell them it's "investment" in the same way we let foreign "investors" buy up all our housing, care homes, water companies, energy firms, NHS suppliers, steel works & we'll put such high charges on domestic firms that aren't big enough to compete & don't have Chinese government backing or silicon valley venture capital money to run at losses for years that they will inevitably go bankrupt too!

don't want to see your IT guys driving porsches anymore? don't worry... we've already fixed that!

[amanfromMars 1]

The Reading of Runes Both Between and Behind Enemy Lines Front Future Exhausting Lies

The department used a defense and security exemption to justify awarding the contract directly rather than running a procurement competition.

How very convenient but not very smart way to advertise the continuity of dodgy corrupt practices aiding and abetting the Nazification of services for failed and failing international state enterprises.

J’accuse.

[deaglecat]

Defence Offerings

Anyone know what we bought ?

https://www.palantir.com/offerings/defense/

I suspect that interoperability with US was a factor....

[steviebuk]

Fools

Just like constantly giving Fujitsu new contracts.

And on an unrelated note. Can someone explain why the reg is regularly logging my account out on all devices. Its fing annoying.

[Pulled Tea]

YOU get a knife missile! YOU get a knife missile! EVERYONE gets a knife missile!

Hey, isn't this the company whose CEO was the freak who was very keen of the fact that it's very happy to “on occasion, kill” their enemies?

Has Starmer get a list of who those enemies are, and made sure that he isn't on that list?

[cookiecutter]

nothing more british

than the MOD handing money to a white supremicist

[Nicodemus's Knob]

This is your hard earned taxes being wasted.

You know, I'm so tired of paying my taxes when the UK governments pay the likes of US companies for their shit rather than develop the capability in this country. While this goes on we will always be dictated to by US government and they always will have the last say.

What complete dumb asses we have in the MOD, civil service and government that make these decisions. I guess they come from the same school as all the dumb asses in the post office management that created the mess there.

[Anonymous Coward]

First hand knowledge

Excuse posting anonymously. A few years ago I was involved in some work which included a poorly placed contract with Palantir. I had the basis of a database that was basically free to use, but instead millions of pounds was wasted on fkn spreadsheets and people to type in manually, just so this could be uploaded to who knows where. Time and money wasted. I just didn't have a voice loud enough to be taken seriously.

[RPF]

Re: First hand knowledge

More like you didn't have a big fat brown envelope, or a Swiss bank account.

[Catch-the-Pigeon]

tax recovery

If you are into contracting to recover some or more of your tax money get skilled up in palantir tools, it's not easy since they're quite bespoke but with the lack of people around to do it you're likely to get a contract for 1000+ per day, and looks like most contracts are 1 year and ongoing. In this case even without practical eperience do what most do , make it up, quids in eventually. For the rest it's read it and weep