Last August, during testing of unmanned ships, the US Navy encountered a critical problem – the only point of failure was the satellite communications of American businessman Elon Musk’s Starlink network, the agency writes.
The global network outage affected millions of users and left nearly two dozen unmanned surface vehicles without communications off the California coast, halting operations for nearly an hour, according to Reuters.
As Reuters notes, this incident was one of several test failures involving SpaceX systems. According to internal documents seen by the media, the operators were missing out on connecting to autonomous ships, which are seen as an important element in a potential conflict with China.
The agency also notes that as SpaceX prepares for a possible listing on the stock exchange with a valuation of up to $2 trillion, the company has further strengthened its position as a major partner of the US government. Its technologies include satellite communications, space launches and artificial intelligence military systems.
As Reuters emphasizes, the Starlink system has become critical for military programs – from controlling drones to tracking missiles. A network of nearly 10,000 satellites in low Earth orbit provides resistance to possible attacks, but at the same time creates risks due to dependence on a single supplier.
The material contains the opinion of Clayton Swope, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who noted that without Starlink, the US government would not have access to global satellite communications of such a scale.
The article also states that despite growing competition from Amazon, SpaceX remains the leader in low-orbit satellite communications.
In addition to drones, the company virtually dominates the space launch market and provides communication services through Starlink and the Starshield system, the media writes. Last month, the US Space Force handed over a GPS launch to a SpaceX rocket for the fourth time due to problems with the Vulcan rocket.
Separately, Reuters draws attention to the concerns of American Democratic lawmakers regarding dependence on one company in the field of national security, which is headed by “the richest man in the world.” Recent U.S. Department of Defense controversies and the blacklisting of artificial intelligence startup Anthropic have quickly demonstrated that over-reliance on a single vendor can create problems if the collaboration ends.
Separately, the material mentions last year's restriction of access to Starlink for the Ukrainian military during operations against Russia, which caused concern among allies.
Reuters also describes technical problems recorded during tests in April 2025 in California. Then the Starlink system was unable to provide a stable connection while simultaneously controlling several unmanned vehicles due to high data transfer volumes.
Despite this, the agency concludes, experts believe that the benefits of Starlink – particularly its availability and scale – outweigh the risks of possible failures. Autonomous warfare expert at the Hudson Institute Brian Clark noted that such vulnerabilities are accepted because of the benefits of broad coverage.
Context
After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Musk provided Starlink terminals, which provide communications in Ukraine to the Ukrainian military and residents of de-occupied settlements. This equipment is also purchased for Ukraine by international partners.
NATO's Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation, Admiral Pierre Vandier, said in May 2025 that Europe must urgently enter the space race to confront Musk, Russia and China. Russia's war against Ukraine demonstrated the importance of space assets for battlefield communications and intelligence gathering and painfully underscored Europe's dependence on a limited number of U.S. companies, primarily SpaceX, the commander said.
