Does The US Military Use Starlink?

This past year, experts predicted that Starlink's revenue would skyrocket in 2025 to a gargantuan $11.8 billion, up 57% from the previous year, fueled by a leap in U.S. government contracts, including a newly disclosed $537 million deal with the Pentagon to provide SATCOM services for the Ukrainian military through 2027. For the U.S. Department of Defense, Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (PLEO) satellite programs are a growing strategic priority.  As reported by SpaceNews in October 2024, the DOD's PLEO budget is expected to balloon from $900 million up to a possible $13 billion. Considering Starlink's dominance in the field, the company is primed to capitalize on this influx of U.S. military cash. According to the Satellite tracking website Orbiting Now, which pulls from NASA, Union of Concerned Scientists, and Celestrak data,  7,271 LEO satellites orbited Earth in April 2025.  Of that number, nearly 65% belonged to Starlink.

The U.S.'s increasing collaboration with — and some would note, reliance on — Starlink has drawn criticism, particularly in light of its CEO Elon Musk's rising role in the Trump administration. Beyond concerns over Musk's conflicts of interest, critics at home and abroad have raised questions about the security risks of military dependence on SpaceX. Of particular concern is Ukraine's use of Starlink, which it depends on for everything from connecting hospitals to executing military operations. Although European allies have expressed reservations over Musk's influence in Ukraine, the sizeable gap between Starlink's capabilities and its competitors has cemented its role in the conflict. While the E.U. looks to develop PLEO alternatives, the Trump administration is only further entrenching the federal government's collaboration with the Austin-based giant.

Officially, Starlink is not intended for military end-users. Instead, SpaceX handles these contracts through its more secure constellation dubbed Starshield, which provides remote internet access to several militaries and at least one intelligence agency, namely the U.S.'s National Reconnaissance Office, which reportedly holds a contract with Starshield worth $1.8 billion.

One DOD branch with large ties to Starlink is, unsurprisingly, the U.S. Space Force. Since signing its first contract with the Space Force in 2023,Starlink has dominated the competition in procuring contracts under the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and Space Force Space Systems Command's PLEO program. First instituted in 2023 with a 10-year, $900 million ceiling, the PLEO program allows the U.S. military to contract with commercial SATCOM providers. In its short history, Starlink has beaten its 19 eligible competitors for an astonishing 97% of the program's $660 million worth of task orders. According to a DISA spokesman, the budget for the program is set to balloon to a whopping $13 billion.

In a March 2025 Senate hearing, Senator Kevin Cramer revealed that the Air Force is also considering shifting a Space Development Agency satellite program over to Spaceshield, a move that necessitates canceling signed contracts with several competitors. The program plans to develop hundreds of satellites for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture's Transport Layer, a key missile defense and data transport system scheduled to launch in 2028. Following the revelation, an Air Force spokesman said that no decisions have been finalized regarding the program. These discussions come as the Air Force faces potential budget cuts proposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which aim to reduce U.S. defense spending by 8% by 2030. 

Another branch that is increasingly integrating Starlink into its operations is the U.S. Navy. As the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) stated in August 2024, the U.S. Navy is testing using Starlink terminals to bring high-speed internet to sailors in remote waters under two seperate initiatives. The benefits of this integration extend beyond improving naval operations, as internet access could boost morale on long deployments. This was true for crewmembers aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford CVN 78 aircraft carrier, where Starlink has been installed since February 2023. Although these programs have only been confirmed for two surface ships, the Navy could expand its Starlink deployment to 200 vessels.

Despite the obvious performance benefits, adding Starlink isn't without its risks. Historically, personal internet access is restricted on warships for strategic purposes, ensuring operational security, preserving the already limited bandwidth, and reducing the likelihood of disruptive cyberattacks. These risks came to the forefront in 2024, when several crewmembers were found to have installed their own Starlink network upon a littoral battleship, a revelation that resulted in the court-martialing of at least one senior crewmember.

The army has also used Starlink to expand its satellite communication (SATCOM) abilities since 2023, and depends on SpaceX for several command and control functions. However, in 2024, branch officials stated that they hope to diversify the army's PLEO options through its Next-Generation Tactical Terminal program, enabling field commanders to toggle between Starshield and other networks, such as Amazon's Project Kuiper.