![Image](https://english.sunonews.tv/enews/2024/March/03-18-24/news_big_images/technology_75866534.jpg)
The network is being built by SpaceX’s Starshield business unit under a $1.8 billion contract signed in 2021 with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), an intelligence agency that manages spy satellites, the sources said.
The plans show the extent of SpaceX’s involvement in U.S. intelligence and military projects and illustrate a deeper Pentagon investment into vast, low-Earth orbiting satellite systems aimed at supporting ground forces.
If successful, the sources said the program would significantly advance the ability of the U.S. government and military to quickly spot potential targets almost anywhere on the globe.
The contract signals growing trust by the intelligence establishment of a company whose owner has clashed with the Biden administration and sparked controversy over the use of Starlink satellite connectivity in the Ukraine war, the sources said.
The Wall Street Journal reported in February the existence of a $1.8 billion classified Starshield contract with an unknown intelligence agency without detailing the purposes of the program.
![Image](https://english.sunonews.tv/enews/2024/September/09-04-24/news_big_images/health_13407253.jpg)
![Image](https://english.sunonews.tv/enews/2024/September/09-02-24/news_big_images/world_26012029.jpg)
![Image](https://english.sunonews.tv/enews/2024/August/08-29-24/news_big_images/world_16128111.jpg)
![Image](https://english.sunonews.tv/enews/2024/August/08-28-24/news_big_images/world_22338258.jpg)