Boeing, GoGo test satellite-linked military drone in challenge to Starlink

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON, Sept ‌22 (Reuters) - Boeing's drone ​subsidiary ​Insitu and aviation Wi-Fi provider Gogo have successfully tested a military drone using satellite communications, the companies said on ‌Tuesday, underscoring growing efforts by governments and defense firms to ⁠reduce reliance on Elon Musk's Starlink.

Gogo Special Missions, the military and government arm ‌of Gogo, and Insitu integrated ‌a modified version of Gogo's Galileo HDX antenna onto Insitu's Integrator drone, a mid-sized uncrewed aircraft used by military customers for surveillance ​and reconnaissance missions.

Drone warfare has become central to military strategy following its widespread use in Russia's war in Ukraine and conflicts across ⁠the Middle East. As militaries seek to operate drones at longer ranges, withstand jamming attacks and carry ​out increasingly complex missions, they are turning to satellite networks such as Starlink rather than relying on line-of-sight ​radio links.

Gogo and Insitu said their system ‌would provide the Integrator drone with high-speed global internet through Eutelsat OneWeb's low-Earth-orbit satellite network and would not be ⁠subject to US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), easing exports to international customers.

"Adding an ITAR-free, high-speed SATCOM option is an essential capability for our global customers," John ⁠Kelly, Insitu's vice president of growth, said in a statement, adding that the technology ​would extend command-and-control range and allow faster transmission of sensor data from the battlefield.

Gogo and Insitu did not disclose a timeline for deploying the system.

Providing military ‌users with Starlink and Starshield, SpaceX's secure government-focused satellite communications service, has become an important source of revenue ‌for Musk's company. But European governments and some in the Pentagon have ⁠voiced concerns about an over-reliance ‌on Starlink, whose ​constellation of thousands of satellites dwarfs those of its rivals.

(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Joe Brock ‌and Sanjeev Miglani)

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