SpaceX not searching for Pentagon funding for Starlink in Ukraine, Musk says • TechCrunch

SpaceX has withdrawn its request to the Pentagon that it fund the continued use of Starlink web terminals in Ukraine, CEO Elon Musk stated Monday. His assertion (made on Twitter – the place else?) comes simply hours after it was reported that the Pentagon was contemplating footing the invoice utilizing a fund that funds contracts for weapons and tools for the Ukrainian navy.

Out of the 25,300 terminals that had been despatched to Ukraine, round 10,630 had been paying for the satellite tv for pc web service, Musk added.

This marks the most recent chapter within the ongoing saga over the destiny of Starlink in Ukraine – a service that Ukranian officers say has grow to be important to the conflict effort, permitting troops and civilians to remain related regardless of widespread destruction of typical communications infrastructure, like cellphone towers. As late as July, a high Ukranian navy official despatched a direct request to Musk for nearly 8,000 extra terminals, CNN reported.

CNN additionally reported that SpaceX had despatched a letter to the Pentagon requesting it choose up funding for the Starlink service in Ukraine, information that generated main waves of controversy. Musk said the continued operation of the donated Starlink terminals has value $80 million and can exceed $100 million by yr’s finish; in the meantime, in a letter SpaceX instructed the Pentagon, “We aren’t ready to additional donate terminals to Ukraine or fund the prevailing terminals for an indefinite time period.”

However regardless of immediately’s information that SpaceX has withdrawn its request for funding, the long-term way forward for Starlink in Ukraine is certainly not settled. Two days in the past, Musk stated “the hell with it […] we’ll simply maintain funding Ukraine govt totally free,” however as TechCrunch’s Devin Coldewey famous, that is certainly not a long-term resolution.

Earlier immediately, Politico reported that U.S. officers had been contemplating funding the service via the Ukraine Safety Help Initiative, the financing fund talked about earlier on this story. European Union international ministers additionally mentioned the Starlink situation at a gathering immediately, Politico stated. However whether or not the Pentagon – which has despatched billions to assist the conflict effort in Ukraine, funds which have gone to every thing from ammunition to armored automobiles – will persist in selecting up the tab now that SpaceX is not searching for financing is unclear.