Pentagon to buy Starlink terminals for Ukraine that Musk won’t be able to turn off
The US Department of Defense has approved an agreement with SpaceX to purchase Starlink terminals and services for Ukraine, which company founder Elon Musk will not be able to disable at will.
This is stated in an article by The New York Times.
As noted, in June 2023, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin approved the Pentagon’s deal to buy 400 to 500 new Starlink terminals and services.
According to the two sources, the agreement gives the Pentagon control over the settings of where Starlink’s Internet signal operates in Ukraine so that these new devices can realize key capabilities and specific missions.
Apparently, this was done to provide Ukraine with special terminals and services to perform confidential functions without fear of having its communications interrupted.
The publication recalls that Musk disconnected access to some Starlink terminals in Ukraine.
According to two sources, at the end of 2022, about 1,300 Starlink terminals purchased through a British supplier stopped working in Ukraine after the government could not afford the monthly fee of $2,500 for each.
Access to Starlink also reportedly changed depending on the course of the war, as Russia gained territory and Ukraine fought to regain it.
As the front lines changed, Musk used geofencing to limit Starlink’s accessibility to the front lines. SpaceX uses location data collected by its service to ensure compliance with geofencing restrictions.
