Elon Musk fired back at the Pentagon after a Reuters piece surfaced, claiming U.S. military Starlink drones violated terms by using civilian service instead of the government‑only Starshield network. Musk said the contractor that built the LUCAS war drones misconfigured the terminals.

The dispute centers on a $25,000 monthly fee SpaceX demanded for each Starshield connection on kamikaze drones used in the Iran conflict. The Pentagon had previously paid $5,000 per link, a hike that highlighted tensions over pricing and contract terms.

Musk’s critique underscores a growing friction between SpaceX’s commercial satellite business and defense contracts. The disagreement could force the U.S. military to seek alternative low‑Earth‑orbit providers, reshaping satellite‑based warfare logistics.

These clashes reveal how commercial space tech is increasingly entangled with national security, forcing clearer separation between civilian and military satellite services.