In the absence of real competition, the company won the competition.
The Iran War has demonstrated the US military’s inability to be cost-effective. To make matters worse on that front, SpaceX is now reportedly using its market leverage to pressure the Pentagon to spend more on satellite internet.
Disagreements were reported between SpaceX and the Pentagon reuters On Tuesday. Just weeks after the US military launched its campaign against Iran, SpaceX executives reportedly met with Defense Department officials to talk about pricing. The message from Elon Musk’s company was essentially: You’re paying about $5,000 monthly per Starlink terminal, but you’re using it like a high-end aviation membership that costs $25,000 a month. Time to upgrade.
The Pentagon’s conflict with SpaceX arose over the service’s use of LUCAS kamikaze drones. At their meeting, DoD officials reportedly argued that aviation-grade Starlink is more expensive
The service was designed for aircraft, not unguided drones that explode on impact. This type usually requires only a few minutes to a few hours of satellite connectivity. The Pentagon reportedly caved, essentially doubling the cost of each LUCAS drone.
And all this is happening as SpaceX prepares for its IPO in June, which is expected to be the largest in history.
Starshield, a military-grade version of Starlink, has become an increasingly important tool for global defense forces. For example, when SpaceX began blocking Russia’s use of the service, experts began describing Ukraine as gaining the upper hand in a war with Russia.
A DOD spokesperson said reuters The agency is shopping around for Starlink competitors. Unfortunately, it may need to travel to another galaxy to do so (perhaps with the help of SpaceX). Musk’s company is the only game in town that operates on this scale. reuters Note that SpaceX’s nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit make up more than 60 percent of the global total. Neither of its closest competitors, Amazon LEO and Eutelsat OneWeb, are prepared to compete at that level.
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