Starlink failed the US Army: a satellite communication failure from SpaceX disrupted tests of marine drones near California

A global outage of the Starlink satellite network has disrupted a U.S. Navy drone test off the coast of California, exposing the risks of the U.S. military’s reliance on a single communications provider.

This is reported by Reuters .

According to journalists, the outage affected millions of users and led to the loss of communication with approximately 20 unmanned surface vehicles, which forced operations to be halted for almost 1 hour.

It was one of several incidents during tests involving SpaceX systems, according to internal documents, in which operators repeatedly lost connectivity to the autonomous craft, which are seen as a key element in a potential conflict with China.

Journalists also note that the Starlink system has become critical to US military programs, including drone control and missile tracking. The network includes nearly 10,000 satellites in low Earth orbit.

“Without Starlink, the US government would not have access to global satellite communications on this scale,” said Clayton Swope, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The material emphasizes that, despite its resistance to potential attacks, such a system creates risks due to its dependence on a single supplier.

In addition, SpaceX has strengthened its position as a key partner of the US government, covering satellite communications, space launches, and military systems with artificial intelligence.

At the same time, journalists note that, despite competition from Amazon, the company remains a leader in low-orbit satellite communications and dominates the space launch market.

It is separately emphasized that American lawmakers express concern about national security dependence on one company, as this could create risks in the event of termination of cooperation.

Recall that SpaceX, at the request of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, has implemented countermeasures in the operation of the Starlink satellite communication system in the country . Some users are already noticing temporary restrictions aimed at increasing the level of security.

Subsequently, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said that the Starlinks included in the “white list” are working, and the Russian terminals have already been blocked.

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