Japanese Military Starlink Internet Service Trials To Adopt Future Technology

JAKARTA - The Japanese military is testing Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service with the intention of adopting the technology in the coming fiscal year. This was reported by the Yomiuri newspaper on Sunday, June 25 citing unnamed government sources.

Japan's Ministry of Defense already has access to communication satellites in geostationary orbit, but the use of Starlink technology, operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX, will add a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit, Yomiuri said.

Countries around the world are also trying to build resilience to the risk of communication disruptions or attacks on satellites in conflict situations.

Japan's Self-Defense Forces have been testing Starlink since March with the system deployed in about 10 locations and in training, the newspaper reported.

A spokesman for the defense ministry could not immediately be reached to comment on the report.

Starlink technology is being used by Ukraine on the battlefield, while Russia is trying to hinder its use in the region. Musk said in October that SpaceX could not unboundedly fund the use of Starlink in Ukraine.

The United States Department of Defense said this month it had signed a Starlink service there.

So far there have been no reports of direct assistance from Starlink in dealing with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Although Starlink has been used by the Ukrainian military on the battlefield, information on its impacts and outcomes of its use in the context of conflicts with Russia is still limited. Therefore, there is not enough data to conclude exactly how the results of Starlink's assistance to the Ukrainian military resulted in dealing with the Russian invasion.