RismadarVoice Reporters
September 10, 2026
Britain has spent nearly $40 million on satellite services from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, deepening its reliance on the U.S. company for military communications amid growing concerns in Europe over dependence on American security infrastructure.
The spending, disclosed following a freedom of information request, makes Britain the first country outside the United States to publicly confirm the use of SpaceX’s Starshield satellite service, which is designed for government and intelligence operations.
The UK Defence Ministry said it operates about 1,000 Starshield terminals and 500 Starlink terminals, spending about £13 million ($17.6 million) on Starshield and £16.5 million on Starlink services.
Britain began using Starlink in 2022 before shifting more military communications traffic to Starshield, a more secure version of SpaceX’s satellite network aimed at defence and national security customers.
The Defence Ministry said Starshield provides enhanced encryption, military-specific service terms, higher network priority and expanded coverage compared with standard Starlink services.
The disclosure comes as European governments seek to strengthen their own defence capabilities amid uncertainty over long-term U.S. security commitments to the continent.
SpaceX has increasingly separated Starlink, which is marketed for civilian and commercial use, from Starshield, which targets military and intelligence users. Company founder Elon Musk has urged governments to adopt Starshield for sensitive operations.
Britain continues to operate its own military satellite communications system, Skynet, and holds a stake in France-based satellite operator Eutelsat, which runs another major low-Earth orbit broadband network.
Starshield services are significantly more expensive than standard Starlink offerings, with UK government pricing showing plans costing up to £25,000 ($33,800) per month for unlimited data.
SpaceX has expanded Starshield’s presence among defence customers, with the U.S. government awarding the company billions of dollars in contracts for military satellite programmes.
