Europe’s reliance on US tech exposed by Ukraine Starlink outages

rfi.fr —

Ukraine reported disruptions to SpaceX's Starshield military satellite service during high-speed terminal movement, affecting drones and air defence, while Kyiv also missed US missile attack warnings for a second night, exposing European reliance on American technology. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk attributed any restrictions to US government control, noting Starshield is owned and operated by the US military. The incidents follow deteriorating relations between President Donald Trump and Ukraine, including Trump's sanctions lift on Russian diesel and calls for Zelenskiy's replacement. European alternatives remain unready, as Eutelsat's OneWeb cannot quickly replace Starlink without adapting thousands of terminals. EU Commissioner Andrius Kubilius acknowledged Europe's dependence on US space capabilities, urging development of the IRIS² constellation, though it remains years from operational.


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