Why the world’s militaries are trying to make their own Starlink

Starlink’s satellite constellation provides a reliable Internet connection to almost anywhere on Earth, providing an edge on the modern battlefield. But it is also run by controversial billionaire Elon Musk, and poses a risk to militaries that could easily find themselves cut off. So now countries are racing to build their own version.

The Starlink network consists of nearly 10,000 satellites that provide Internet connections across most of the planet via ground-based dishes. The company says it has more than 10 million paying civilian customers, but the service is also used by the military. Modern warfare is a data-intensive business, with intelligence, video feeds and drone control instructions sent back and forth 24 hours a day.

Unlike radios, which can be easily jammed by adversaries, Starlink’s signals point straight up from ground stations into space and are relatively robust. And because receivers are cheap, they can be issued to small military units and even used on remotely piloted ground and aerial drones.

But in a world where global tensions are rising and states are seeking sovereignty in everything from computer chip production to nuclear deterrence, relying on a foreign service like Starlink to coordinate troops is seen as increasingly risky. Especially when it’s controlled by a mercurial figure like Musk.

Both Ukraine and Russia have used Starlink since the 2022 invasion, with reports suggesting Russia has guided attack drones with it. But in February, the company restricted access to registered users, effectively shutting Russian troops out of the service. The move is reported to have had serious consequences for Russia’s ability to coordinate its military and gave Ukraine an advantage, at least in the short term. No other nation wants to find itself in the same boat.

The European Union is building its own version called Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²), which will have around 300 satellites but will not start operating until 2030. China is also building the Guowang network, which will have 13,000 satellites but currently has fewer than 200, and the Qian constellation is still under construction. Russia’s planned Sfera constellation has been subject to delays.

Even European states are working on developing their own versions separate from the EU. Germany is in talks to create its own network, which is still on the drawing board, and Britain retains a stake in satellite internet provider Eutelsat OneWeb, having saved its predecessor from bankruptcy because the technology was so important. A British startup called OpenCosmos is also working on a similar system, ironically with the support of the US intelligence agency the CIA.

Anthony King of the University of Exeter, UK, says it is “striking” that a private communications company can hold such a powerful position on the world stage today, able to allow or deny an advantage in future conflicts, but that wealthy superpowers will catch up in time. “Obviously the Chinese want one, and have one (of current smaller size), so they will have secure digital satellite communications in any future conflict,” he says.

Sky-high costs

Although Starlink is a private company, Barry Evans of the University of Surrey, UK, says it was heavily funded for strategic reasons by the US government and even offers a more secure militarized version called Starshield.

“You have governments relying on an individual, which is one of the things that worries Europe,” says Evans. “(Musk) turns it off in different countries at different times. There’s a lot going on and for the UK it’s quite worrying because we don’t really have the funding to launch our own system.”

Evans says that even Russia and China are well behind Starlink, which has the advantage of being wholly owned by the rocket company SpaceX and therefore able to launch its satellites more cheaply and on its own schedule.

Creating these vast networks is not a one-time cost, but requires expensive maintenance and the continuous launch of new satellites to replace older units as they fail or run out of the fuel they need to maintain a stable orbit. Because Britain lacks a launch capability of its own, it will always have to rely on another country to some extent, even if it were to create its own satellite constellation.

Ian Muirhead of the University of Manchester, UK, who served in military communications for over two decades, says that armies once used radio, and later began deploying what was essentially a temporary mobile phone network when they went into battle, so that soldiers could communicate over distance.

But as militaries shrank after the Cold War, this became prohibitively expensive and difficult, says Muirhead, so militaries began using satellite communications instead. However, doing so relied on a small number of proprietary satellites and required expensive and bulky hardware on the ground. Starlink offers even greater capabilities, at far lower cost and complexity, at least on the ground.

Muirhead says it also provides an advantage when space warfare with an adversary is considered. “Because there are a lot of them, they can’t just destroy a satellite and call it quits — they’re always overhead,” he says.

SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.