Pentagon Awards SpaceX Fleet Contract to Put Starshield on Military Aircraft

The Space Force has awarded SpaceX a fleet-level service contract to expand use of its Starshield satellite network aboard military aircraft, extending the government-focused system beyond ground terminals and into airborne platforms. The award, posted August 25 by the Space Force's Commercial Space Office, covers satellite subscription services for aircraft fitted with SpaceX's Starshield Tile and smaller Tile Mini terminals.

The move reflects a broader Pentagon effort to integrate Starshield across U.S. aviation fleets. A supporting acquisition document shows that government organizations have already funded development and qualification of ruggedized Starshield terminals for a range of military aircraft, including cargo planes and tactical fighter jets, with additional installations planned. Eleven government organizations participated in development of the Tile Mini during 2024 and 2025.

The task order, awarded July 28 under the name Starshield Custom Fleet Aviation Services, calls for worldwide service with data rates of at least 500 megabits per second downlink and 100 megabits per second uplink. It has a one-year base period through July 2027 and an option extending service through July 2028. The value of the award was redacted.

The Space Force said the government has spent about $51.9 million developing and qualifying the Tile Mini aviation-compatible terminals, including prototype fabrication, aircraft integration, interoperability assessments and testing. In estimating replacement costs, the filing cites groups of 140, 90 and another 140 aviation terminals, along with hardware used by other mission partners, though redactions obscure which aircraft or organizations those figures correspond to.

The award was made under the Space Force's Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Satellite-Based Services contract, a multiple-award vehicle established in 2023. SpaceX has dominated task-order awards under the PLEO contract since its inception. By late 2024, the Space Force had awarded about $660 million in PLEO task orders, with the majority going to SpaceX, a service official said at the time. Demand grew so quickly that the Space Force increased the 10-year contract ceiling from its original $900 million to $13 billion. Other companies have won work through the vehicle, including OneWeb Technologies, which received the second task order this year under the Warrior Plans initiative.

For the aviation requirement, the Space Force concluded that SpaceX was the only provider currently able to meet its needs. Government market research found OneWeb-compatible aviation terminals were the only potential alternative, but none had been tested to the MIL-STD-810H and MIL-STD-461G standards required for military aviation. The government also concluded that available OneWeb terminals were larger than the Starshield Tile Mini and could not meet requirements for some aircraft. The justification was issued as an exception to the normal fair-opportunity process, allowing the government to direct the task order to SpaceX without competing it.

Space Force officials estimated that switching to another provider would require new terminal development, aircraft integration, cybersecurity and interoperability work, qualification testing and retraining. The government estimated such a transition could take two and a half to three years and create operational gaps for aircraft already relying on Starshield. Replacement hardware alone could cost roughly $72 million, on top of the $51.9 million already spent. The document also says SpaceX is deploying Starshield-specific points of presence intended to improve connections between military users and the Defense Department Information Network.

The one-year base period runs through July 2027, with an option extending service through July 2028. Additional Starshield terminal installations across military aircraft are planned.