In a command centre somewhere in Ukraine whose location cannot be disclosed, the war, now grinding through its fifth year, looks less like a battlefield and more like some sci-fi movie control room. Screens display live flight paths, showing drones that are already airborne. And as a commander plans the next strike, an AI software processes data from previous ones. The drones are Ukrainian. The software is American.
Kyiv has begun using an artificial intelligence-powered software platform to plan and coordinate long-range drone strikes against strategic targets inside Russia, according to a CNN report.
Journalists were granted rare access to a unit within Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate, known as the HUR, that is responsible for these operations. What they found was a command centre where operators work with a platform called PRISMA, developed by Palantir.
What Does PRISMA Do?
PRISMA brings together real-time battlefield data, drone flight paths, and AI-assisted analysis into a single operational picture. This allows operators to coordinate large numbers of drones simultaneously while missions are still underway. Footage from the command centre showed live maps, flight trajectories, and AI-processed data displayed across multiple screens.
A commander identified only by the callsign “Vector” was seen using the system to plan ongoing operations.
How Does PRISMA Work?
The platform works by continuously analysing information gathered from previous drone missions, including where drones were intercepted, where radar was active, and which flight routes were used. Using this data, it identifies potential gaps in Russian air defences and calculates alternative routes for subsequent strikes.
By studying patterns in Russian air defence activity and past interception attempts, the system helps operators adapt flight plans during live operations.
The system, as per what Ukrainian intelligence officials told CNN, is decentralised. Thus, even lights go out in an individual command centre, others continue operating.
Palantir And Ukraine Share A History
PRISMA is not the first Palantir tool deployed in this conflict. The company has worked with the Ukrainian government and defence institutions since the early stages of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, supplying software for intelligence analysis, logistics, and battlefield planning.
The company is quite popular among US military officials as well. In April, US President Donald Trump praised Palantir, saying the company “has proven to have great war-fighting capabilities and equipment. Just ask our enemies.”
Before strikes on Tehran on 28 February, the Pentagon used Palantir’s Maven Smart System, which runs on Claude, the AI platform developed by Anthropic, to sift through satellite imagery and drone footage and generate more than a thousand strike options for American commanders.
The company’s software has become so embedded in Pentagon operations that Palantir has grown from a niche defence contractor into a central figure in American military planning.
Beyond Maven and PRISMA, Palantir offers a platform called Gotham, used by defence and intelligence agencies for threat detection, network analysis, and counterterrorism support. It also assists law enforcement in tracking criminal activity and coordinating operations.
The company has faced backlash for the use of this software by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to further Trump’s crackdown on immigration.
Drones are perhaps the defining lesson of the Russia-Ukraine war, a conflict now grinding through its fifth year. Russia fired a record 8,150 drones at Ukraine last month, according to an AFP estimate. Ukraine is answering in kind. Its long-range drones and homemade missiles are striking deep into Russian territory, hitting energy sites, weapons factories, and the laboratories behind Russia’s drone programme, with occasional strikes reaching the outskirts of Moscow.
As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to press allies for more support, the value of each strike and each drone that delivers it is rising. Systems like PRISMA help Ukraine make every drone count.
