House China committee demands Elon Musk open SpaceX Starshield internet to U.S. troops in Taiwan
House China committee demands Elon Musk open SpaceX Starshield internet to U.S. troops in Taiwan
The Pentagon awarded Elon Musk's SpaceX a one-year contract for Starshield in September.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party sent a letter on Saturday to SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk demanding that U.S. troops stationed in Taiwan get access to SpaceX's Starshield, a satellite communication network designed specifically for the military.
The letter, obtained by CNBC and first reported by Forbes, claimed that by not making Starshield available to U.S. military forces in Taiwan, SpaceX could violate its Pentagon contract, which requires "global access" to Starshield technology.
Why TF are we renting military stuff from any 3rd party and essentially giving them control to override the military chain of command in the first place? I can't see this sitting well with anyone on the military side of this.
Presumably for the same reason that many US prisons are run by private individuals.
Outsourcing is the new thing, you don't have to take the blame and that's value for a lot of decision makers.
Also it always, ALWAYS results in a shittier product. Which is part of the reason why the world is fucked right now.
That's how the whole military works. You think they spend too much now...try socialising it all.
Are you an idiot? Privatization caused the massive grift that is the MIC.
"We demand that you make us reliant on you for communications!"
JFC we spend a trillion bucks a year on the military. Why don't they have their own satellite internet already?
They do, it just not as fast or reliable. SpaceX put more into infrastructure whereas the Military just did bare minimum. Now that Starlink is so much better, it's cheaper and more efficient to rent from them than to continue building their own.
We do. They're all geostationary. So high latency and low bandwidth. Been in operation early 2000.
US military should build its own damn starlink as a matter of national security
You are correct, but if they try it'll just get diverted and used to feed the oligarchs.
I'd rather the U.S. government just seize all of the muskrat's businesses and nationalize them.
Something something military industrial complex
They are working on it, but it's slow to develop something like that.
Elon says no because he doesn't want to start a nuclear war. Which is why he will provide unlimited Starshield access to China.
lol, at least they're asking nicely. they can "collectivize" the equipment if they decide it's necessary
MARCH. IN. RIGHTS.
You never demand anything from an egotist, it's like our politicians have no idea...