SpaceX’s Starlink Awarded Pentagon Contract for Satellite Communications in Ukraine

SpaceX’s Starlink, the satellite tv for pc communications service began by billionaire Elon Musk, now has a Department of Defense contract to purchase these satellite tv for pc companies for Ukraine, the Pentagon stated on Thursday.

“We proceed to work with a variety of worldwide companions to make sure Ukraine has the resilient satellite tv for pc and communication capabilities they want. Satellite communications represent a significant layer in Ukraine’s general communications community and the division contracts with Starlink for companies of this sort,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

Starlink has been used by Ukrainian troops for a variety of efforts, including battlefield communications.

SpaceX, through private donations and under a separate contract with a U.S. foreign aid agency, has been providing Ukrainians and the country’s military with Starlink internet service, a fast-growing network of more than 4,000 satellites in low Earth orbit, since the beginning of the war in 2022.

The Pentagon contract is a boon for SpaceX after Musk, the company’s CEO, said in October it could not afford to indefinitely fund Starlink in Ukraine, an effort he said cost $20 million a month to maintain.

Russia has tried to cut off and jam internet services in Ukraine, including attempts to block Starlink in the region, though SpaceX has countered those attacks by hardening the service’s software.

The Pentagon did not disclose the terms of the contract, which Bloomberg reported earlier on Thursday, “for operational security reasons and due to the critical nature of these systems.”

(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Reuters)