Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) are testing Elon Musk's Starlink satellite communications network in a bid to officially introduce the technology next fiscal year starting April 2024, a Japanese newspaper has cited unnamed government sources as saying.
The sources claimed that the service has been tested for the SDF’s land, sea and air forces since March with the system deployed in about ten locations and in training.
According to the insiders, although the Japanese Ministry of Defense already has access to communication satellites in geostationary orbit, using Starlink’s constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit would provide an additional layer of capability. The Defense Ministry has not commented on the matter yet.
The reported developments come after Musk’s SpaceX aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company said it had orbited 72 more Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 medium-lift launch vehicle.
Starlink is a next-generation satellite network launched by SpaceX in 2018 to provide broadband internet access to remote and rural areas around the world. The constellation consists of thousands of small satellites that orbit the Earth at a low altitude.
After the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, Starlink stations have been providing the Ukrainian forces with access to satellite internet. In February, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, Gwynne Shotwell, said that the company had taken measures to prevent Ukraine's military from using the company's Starlink service to control drones in the region.