Industry · Space
Ukraine is starting Starshield contract talks, Breaking Defense reports
Ukraine's chargé d'affaires says Kyiv needs a new deal before its contract expires in mid-2027 and sees no effective alternative to the network, Breaking Defense reports.
Ukraine is working on a new Starshield deal with the United States before its current contract expires in mid-2027, Breaking Defense reported Nov. 5. Kyiv is also considering possible stopgap measures.1
Ukraine's Starshield contract is up in mid-2027
a senior Ukrainian government official said
Kyiv is working to hash out the terms of a new deal with the US
while also looking at possible stopgap measures
Reported by Breaking Defense, November 05, 2026
Sources
Ukraine has relied on Starshield, the U.S. military variant of SpaceX's Starlink satellite network, for drone operations. Ukraine's chargé d'affaires, Denys Sienik, said the country needs the new contract because it has “no effective alternative” to the low-Earth orbit satellite system.1
Sienik told a Defense Writers Group breakfast that day that Kyiv was “in the process of starting” negotiations with leaders at the Department of War. He expressed hope that a contract would be signed, terms of reference negotiated and funding secured.1
In October, Ukrainian officials claimed a sudden network change caused failures of drones and defenses that led to military and civilian deaths.1
Sienik said the problem had been resolved and the network was working again, but Ukraine still had no explanation from the Pentagon or SpaceX about what happened.1
Ukraine is exploring short- and long-term options and working on domestic capabilities, Sienik said, Breaking Defense reported. He said Europeans were also working on their own system.1
Sources (1)
- Breaking Defense: Ukraine eyeing new SpaceX Starshield deal by mid-2027, still no answers about October problems breakingdefense.com