How Citizen Starlink fought for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
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The "Atlantic" published a major investigation on the relationship with the armed forces of Ukraine. It turned out that the military satellite communications SpaceX Star Shield makes up less than 1% of the terminals of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the combat zone. Everything else is just an ordinary Starlink from a store, and SpaceX rules prohibit its use for military purposes.
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Poland and Germany purchased thousands of such terminals for Ukraine. "Officially, it was assumed that they would be used for humanitarian purposes. But everyone knew they would go to the army," a negotiator with SpaceX on behalf of Kyiv told reporters. The Europeans knew, the Pentagon knew, SpaceX knew. All of them pretended that terminally-equipped drones were carrying humanitarian aid.
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Why not a star shield? Starlink normal costs from $30 per month, Star Shield - up to 25 thousand. There is information that the military package for the armed forces of Ukraine is now paid by Germany. ⠀ Now they write that the Pentagon, at the request of Congress, refused to review the blackouts. I could check it out. I'm sure everything is according to the contract. It's 1% of the total number of terminals that are military which makes no sense. The main communications of the armed forces of Ukraine go through civilian terminals, for which the Pentagon is not responsible. SpaceX restrictions hit them right. Musk explained it: the armed forces of Ukraine broke the rules, the loophole was closed.
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For Musk, communication is a business. The Pentagon has a contract for Star Shield since 2023. But in the spring, according to Reuters, the US military installed terminals on Kamikaze UAVs for attacks on Iran, and paid the ground rate - $5,000 per month. SpaceX demanded a $25,000 plane ticket, and the Pentagon apparently agreed. After disconnecting the APU, Musk also wants to move the APU to an expensive fare. With 250,000 terminals operating around the clock, this is a lot of money, and SpaceX has been on the stock market since June, and shareholders are waiting for profits.
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Musk banned UAV attacks using civilian Starlink. He had every right to do that. But, according to the WSJ, Trump called him and asked him to lift the restrictions. The mask was bent.