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(Reuters) - Elon Musk's companies have a variety of contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense, highlighting the growing relationship between the tech entrepreneur's ventures and the U.S. military. The contracts include:
SpaceX: Provides launch services to the DoD, including the launch of classified satellites and other payloads. SpaceX's CEO Gwynne Shotwell has said the company has about $22 billion in government contracts. The vast majority of that, about $15 billion, is derived from NASA.
- SpaceX's biggest Pentagon contracts include the $733 million National Security Space Launch contract awarded in October to lift satellites into orbit. The company has been tapped for more Pentagon launch contracts potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars more.
Starlink: The satellite-based internet service, which falls under the SpaceX umbrella, has been used by the Pentagon to provide connectivity in remote and austere environments. Starlink's commercial broadband service has some 7,000 satellites in orbit.
- In 2023, the Pentagon awarded SpaceX a contract worth about $23 million to use Starlink to support military operations in Ukraine through mid-2024.
- Starlink has had contracts with Special Operations Command, the Air Force, Army and other parts of the Pentagon.
Starshield: Though not broken out in government contracting, this satellite unit of SpaceX is similar to its commercial Starlink business but designed for government national security programs. While details of the program are scarce, it is believed to have more secure communication pathways for classified information. Starshield has a contract with at least one intelligence agency believed to be worth billions of dollars, Reuters has reported.
VALUE OF CONTRACTS
The total value of Musk's companies' contracts with the DoD is estimated to be in the billions of dollars, but the true figure cannot be determined since many of them are classified. The contracts demonstrate the growing importance of private sector technology companies in supporting U.S. military operations and national security initiatives.
(Reporting by Mike Stone and Joey Roulette in Washington; Editing by Jamie Freed)
