Reuters · October 14, 2026

Ukraine Says SpaceX Restricted Military-Grade Starlink Services; Musk Says Starshield Is Controlled by the U.S. Government

• Ukraine said on Wednesday that SpaceX had restricted military-grade Starlink services, hampering Ukrainian drone strike missions and air defenses, according to the report.
• Elon Musk said on Wednesday in a post on X that Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government and that limits on speed or usage are decided by the U.S. military or the president, according to the report. Musk said Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX and that its usage is limited to civilian or defensive activities.
• Starlink is a satellite internet network of more than 11,000 satellites with roughly 13 million subscribers, according to the report; SpaceX launched its first Starlink satellites in 2019.
• Starshield is a SpaceX business unit that develops military and intelligence satellite systems for the Pentagon, according to the report. The report said its secure communications services use enhanced encryption and dedicated terminals but rely on the Starlink constellation as their backbone.
• According to SpaceX, as cited in the report, Starshield can also provide Earth observation and the ability to integrate sensors or other payloads.
• The Pentagon is Starshield's largest customer and has bought dedicated Starshield satellites, including communications spacecraft for missile-warning missions and a spy constellation for the National Reconnaissance Office, Reuters reported in 2024.
• Britain has adopted Starshield under an arrangement that uses the same satellite constellation, ground stations and terrestrial infrastructure as Starlink but operates through dedicated terminals and separate network gateways, Britain's defence ministry told Reuters, according to the report. The New Zealand Defence Force previously told Reuters it is trialling Starshield, according to the report.
• Reuters reported earlier this year that SpaceX argued some customers paying roughly $5,000 per terminal for Starlink should instead have been using a Starshield service costing about $25,000 per terminal, during a dispute with the Pentagon over prices for satellite services used by military drones during the Iran conflict.

Ukraine's statement, Musk's statement on X, Starlink and Starshield figures, and the British and New Zealand statements as reported by Reuters. Original headline: "What is Starshield, SpaceX's military version of Starlink?".