According to a report compiled by Ta Kung Pao from Reuters and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Reuters broke the story on May 26 that the Pentagon and SpaceX, the aerospace firm owned by American billionaire Elon Musk, were locked in a fierce dispute over the pricing of Starlink satellite network services. Following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict, SpaceX drastically raised its prices for Starlink services used to guide loitering munitions. It hiked the fee for each terminal from around US$5,000 to approximately US$25,000, and the Pentagon ultimately conceded. Both Elon Musk and the Pentagon have denied the allegations.
Reuters stated that after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict, executives from SpaceX held negotiations with Pentagon officials, demanding a steep hike in fees for Starlink services used to guide LUCAS drones. The US military has extensively deployed these low-cost drones in its military operations against Iran.SpaceX argued that the US military was utilizing a premium tier of its services, which carries a monthly charge of roughly US$25,000 per terminal. The Pentagon countered that the US$25,000 monthly fee was tailored for aircraft. By contrast, suicide drones only access Starlink for minutes to a few hours at a time, a vastly different use case from aircraft. With no viable alternative available, the Pentagon ultimately agreed to the price increase. As a result, the cost of each LUCAS drone has nearly doubled from its original price of US$30,000.
Elon Musk posted on social media, dismissing the relevant reports as "false" and shifting the blame to drone manufacturer Spektreworks. He stated that Starlink has two versions: a civilian variant and a military version known as Starshield. According to Musk, the drone maker improperly used the civilian system. A Pentagon spokesperson also said the reports were inaccurate, stressing that SpaceX remains a strong and vital partner of the Pentagon.
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