Reuters reports that flaky Starlink connectivity disrupted drone tests and raised Pentagon concerns about relying on SpaceX’s network for military operations, a pattern echoed in earlier tests.

Similar Starlink-linked disruptions affected military drone tests in both spring and late summer of 2025, suggesting reliability issues during high-demand missions.

The incidents underscore ongoing concerns about Starlink’s reliability as the Pentagon increasingly depends on SpaceX’s satellite internet for its drone program.

An autonomous warfare expert argues that the benefits of Starlink’s ubiquity may outweigh vulnerabilities, highlighting risk-reward considerations in continued reliance.

Starlink outages influence SpaceX’s broader business narrative, including planning around a potential $2 trillion IPO and how Starlink’s performance could affect revenue contribution.

Outages were not solely Starlink’s fault; radio hardware issues and a Viasat network system also contributed to failures.

The report frames a broader context of concerns about Starlink’s ability to sustain connections for multiple assets in demanding operational scenarios.

Starlink publicly touts high uptime and global connectivity, but outages suggest a persistent reliability gap under heavy vehicle loads.

The piece raises questions about whether the US military should pursue alternatives to Starlink for drone control and missile tracking, noting that finding a comparable option could be difficult.

An outage left about 24 autonomous unmanned Navy vessels stranded off California for roughly an hour during August testing.

Approximately two dozen autonomous surface drone boats drifted in the Pacific after communications were disrupted by the outage.

Estimates indicate Starlink accounted for roughly two-thirds of SpaceX’s 2025 revenue, underscoring the network’s strategic importance.