Overview
- SpaceX pressed the Defense Department to reclassify LUCAS kamikaze drone connections into a higher, aviation-tier service and sought to raise fees from about $5,000 to roughly $25,000 per terminal, according to reporting based on Pentagon documents.
- The Pentagon reportedly accepted the higher rate, a move that roughly doubled the per‑unit cost of each LUCAS drone and was first reported in accounts published on Tuesday.
- Elon Musk and Pentagon spokespeople publicly disputed parts of the reporting while also saying that some drones used the civilian Starlink network rather than the military Starshield system, a disagreement that centers on contract rules and which service was actually used.
- Separately, SpaceX proposed an expensive direct‑to‑cell capability to reach Iranian civilians, with documents reporting costs as high as $500 million to launch plus $100 million monthly, and defense officials have raised alarm at that price.
- The standoff reflects deeper risks for the U.S. military because SpaceX’s roughly 10,000‑satellite constellation has no close rival, the Pentagon is looking for alternatives, and officials are weighing orders for thousands more Starshield subscriptions that could lock in large annual costs.