As the American kamikaze drones guided by Elon Musk’s Starlink network began to make visible progress in the war with Iran, senior officials of SpaceX company came to a conclusion: The Pentagon should pay more for access to its satellite Wi-Fi network, notes Reuters.
A few weeks after the United States launched the bombing campaign, SpaceX directors met with Pentagon officials and argued that the military was paying about $5,000 per connection terminal, while effectively using a higher level of services worth nearly $25,000, according to two sources familiar with the situation and Pentagon documents consulted by Reuters and reported by CNBC.
The discussion regarding the use of Starlink on LUCAS suicide drones – an inexpensive American model comparable to Iran’s Shahed, which can hover over a target area before plunging to detonate on impact – is part of the escalating tensions between SpaceX and the Pentagon over Starlink prices in recent months, according to interviews with five people familiar with the situation and documents.
The Pentagon, which is trying to assist Iranian citizens in circumventing government-imposed communication disruptions, has also been in conflict with SpaceX over the pricing of a plan to provide the population with direct mobile connections via Starlink, similar to 5G service, according to two of the sources.
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