The Pentagon has revealed that its contract to deploy Elon Musk’s Starlink terminals in Ukraine is worth $23 million, finally putting a dollar figure on a deal that has embroiled one of the world’s richest men in the Russia conflict — sometimes to his own chagrin.
A U.S. official, who asked not to be identified because details of the contract haven’t previously been disclosed, characterized the service as a vital part of the security assistance the U.S. is providing to Ukraine. The contract to supply SpaceX’s Starlink communications terminals runs from June of last year through next month, and the official declined to say if it would be renewed.
The U.S. had refused to disclose the size of the contract after Bloomberg News disclosed the arrangement last year. Asked what’s changed, the official pointed to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Defense Daily, a Washington defense-trade newsletter.