SpaceX capped Starshield speeds, because flying fast is apparently a crime
Ever had your military comms cut out because your drone dared to fly a bit too fast? The Ukrainian military just experienced that first-hand courtesy of SpaceX.
Overnight and without any warning to Ukrainian forces, SpaceX rolled out an update for its military-grade Starshield terminals. Any unit traveling faster than roughly 160 km/h now simply loses its connection.
In practice, soldiers report drops starting as low as 72 km/h. That is an enormous headache for interceptor drones, middle-strike missions, and fast-moving frontline logistics where speed is quite literally the entire point. Suddenly, chasing enemy reconnaissance drones means outrunning the terminal's built-in speed trap.
Ukraine's defense officials are now on emergency calls with the Pentagon and NATO allies to figure out why mission-critical communications suddenly turned into an overzealous traffic cop.
Relying on private satellite networks during an active war means accepting that an overseas boardroom can deploy a digital speed governor at any moment.
Source: Ukrinform
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