U.S. Navy is reportedly testing SpaceX Starshield satellite terminals

U.S. Navy Department is testing SpaceX Starshield satellite communication terminals to include its use case in fleets of up to 200 in the near future.

Defensescoop reports that Starshiled terminals in the test are referred to as “shipboard Navy Starlink efforts”. Starlink is a satellite internet service designed and developed by Space launch service provider SpaceX.

Starlink is designed for consumers across the globe, while the company serves its government customers through Starshiled. This product is designed to support “national security efforts” and government use.

The Starshiled is focused on three key areas:

• Earth’s observation which processes data directly to the user
• Starshiled provides communication to government users with user equipment
• Starshiled has hosted payloads

This government-oriented service provides end-to-end user data encryption with additional cryptographic capabilities to host classified payloads and process data with high-end security.

The efforts from the Navy are referred to as the Satellite Terminal (transportable) Non-Geostationary, or STtNG, and the Sailor Edge Afloat and Ashore (SEA2) pilot.

Genie Chaiken, Principal Assistant Program Manager in the Navy’s Communications and GPS Navigation Office says that Starlink can improve real-time network services.

“STtNG demonstrated successful shipboard performance in FY22 and moved to full fielding. Both STtNG and SEA2 field Starlink based on Fleet demand for up to 200 ships based on the current design,” said Chaiken.