A glimpse inside Palantir’s Titan project. 

Palantir's Titan system on display.

Palantir Technologies Inc. is delivering mobile battle stations to the US Army as part of its $178 million Titan contract — a milestone for the data analysis giant in its work with the military, and a signal of software’s growing importance in modern warfare.

Palantir shares rallied 3.1% in morning trading.

The product, developed with subcontractors including Anduril Industries Inc. and Northrop Grumman Corp., looks from the outside like a rugged military truck. Inside, it has the feel of a work space, complete with flip-down desks, multiple screens and servers.

Palantir’s development of Titan, which stands for Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node, is the first time a software company has worked as a prime defense contractor. The core of the system is Palantir’s artificial intelligence and analysis tech, which gathers data from third-party sensors and systems, including satellites. The tools then distill the information, giving soldiers more awareness of their surroundings and helping them hit targets faster and more accurately.

The trucks function as “the metal around the software brain,” said Akash Jain, Palantir’s president of US government business. “That’s truly the core thesis the Army was trying to prove out.”

Palantir's Titan system.

Palantir’s contract is significant for the company as it tries to broaden its artificial intelligence work with the US. The deal also highlights the Defense Department’s focus on using the latest software from Silicon Valley, and could offer a preview of the technology-heavy future of battlefields.

During a private gathering Thursday at an Anduril manufacturing facility in Santa Ana, California, Palantir executives said they delivered the systems on time and on budget. The vehicles will undergo additional testing at Army facilities outside of California in the coming weeks for performance and reliability in extreme conditions.

Palantir beat out RTX Corp., formerly Raytheon, for the contract. In addition to partnering with Anduril and Northrop Grumman, the company also tapped L3Harris Technologies Inc. and other firms as subcontractors.

Each Titan system includes two parts: a lightweight industrial truck, and a trailer of roughly the same size. The trailer is used to transport accessories, including a backup power supply and a “space kit” so the system can directly link to satellite data, along with what it collects from terrestrial, aerial and high-altitude systems.

The vehicles themselves are painted a traditional Army green, with space for soldiers to enter the the mobile command center from back of the truck — walking up five stairs and into a cubicle workspace designed for two.

The interior is compact, but has 7-foot ceilings and allows the occupants to set the different temperatures for themselves and the gear. Servers, communications and other systems pack the interior walls, along with drop-down work surfaces and large LCD screens.