INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The possibilities include exploiting automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to sense, target, and strike an enemy
ground and I can get around the globe with my mesh network," Davis said
or link segment comes under attack."Military officials haven't disclosed the cost of MILNET, either in its current form or in the future
architecture envisioned by the Trump administration
For context, SDA has awarded fixed-price contracts worth more than $5.6 billion for approximately 340 data relay satellites in Tranches 1
and 2.That comes out to roughly $16 million per spacecraft, at least an order of magnitude more expensive than a Starlink satellite coming
off of SpaceX's assembly line
Starshield satellites, with their secure communications capability, are presumably somewhat more expensive than an off-the-shelf
Starlink.Some former defense officials and lawmakers are uncomfortable with putting commercially operated satellites in the "kill chain,"
the term military officials use for the process of identifying threats, making a targeting decision, and taking military action.It isn't
clear yet whether SpaceX will operate the MILNET satellites in this new paradigm, but the company has a longstanding preference for doing so
SpaceX built a handful of tech demo satellites for the Space Development Agency a few years ago, but didn't compete for subsequent SDA
One reason for this, sources told Ars, is that the SDA operates its satellite constellation from government-run control centers.Instead, the
SDA chose L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Rocket Lab, Sierra Space, Terran Orbital, and York Space Systems to provide the next
batches of missile tracking and data transport satellites
RTX, formerly known as Raytheon, withdrew from a contract after the company determined it couldn't make money on the program.
