Musk says US military suicide drones used Starlink in violation of SpaceX rules
Musk says US military suicide drones used Starlink in violation of SpaceX rules
马斯克称美军自杀式无人机违规使用星链，违反 SpaceX 服务条款
SpaceX and the Pentagon have been bickering about the price of using Starshield satellite service during the Iran war, according to a Reuters report published today. It appears that SpaceX asked the military for more money after it started using satellite terminals on “kamikaze” attack drones in Iran. 据路透社今日报道，SpaceX 与五角大楼一直在就伊朗战争期间使用“星盾”（Starshield）卫星服务的价格争执不下。据悉，在美军开始将卫星终端用于伊朗境内的“神风特攻队”式攻击无人机后，SpaceX 向军方提出了涨价要求。
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk claimed the Reuters report is wrong. But Musk also said the military drones initially used the commercial Starlink service instead of the government-specific network, in violation of Starlink’s terms of service. Musk blamed the violation on the contractor that built the drones for the government. SpaceX 首席执行官埃隆·马斯克称路透社的报道有误。但马斯克同时也表示，这些军用无人机最初确实使用了商用“星链”（Starlink）服务，而非政府专用的网络，这违反了星链的服务条款。马斯克将这一违规行为归咎于为政府制造无人机的承包商。
The Reuters report, based on Pentagon documents and interviews with sources familiar with the pricing talks, said that SpaceX recently asked the military to pay $25,000 for Starshield access on each kamikaze drone. The Pentagon, which previously paid $5,000 for each connection, objected to the price hike but ultimately agreed to pay it, according to Reuters. 路透社的报道基于五角大楼文件及知情人士的采访，称 SpaceX 最近要求军方为每架自杀式无人机的“星盾”接入服务支付 2.5 万美元。据路透社报道，此前每项连接的费用为 5000 美元，五角大楼虽对涨价表示反对，但最终还是同意支付。
While the $25,000 charge is a monthly fee for the satellite connection provided to a satellite terminal, the terminals are being used with drones that only make one-way trips before hitting targets and detonating on impact. 虽然 2.5 万美元是卫星终端每月连接的费用，但这些终端被安装在无人机上，而这些无人机在撞击目标并引爆前只会进行单程飞行。
Starshield is a network for government entities and is based on Starlink technology. Musk wrote in an X post today that the “Reuters article is false.” But in the very same post, he seemed to confirm a dispute over how the military used SpaceX satellite technology. “They made improper use of the Starlink civilian system for military purposes. Direct violation of terms of service,” Musk wrote today, seeming to indicate that the military used the commercial Starlink system when it should have been using Starshield. “星盾”是面向政府实体的网络，基于星链技术构建。马斯克今日在 X 上发文称“路透社的文章是虚假的”。但在同一篇帖子中，他似乎又证实了双方在军方如何使用 SpaceX 卫星技术上存在争议。马斯克写道：“他们将星链民用系统不当用于军事目的，直接违反了服务条款。”这似乎暗示军方本应使用“星盾”，却使用了商用星链系统。
Musk said later that the drones were configured incorrectly by a military contractor. “There is a US government arm of SpaceX called Starshield, which has a different set of satellites than Starlink, which is for civilian use. The company that makes the suicide drones incorrectly used the civilian system, instead of the Starshield,” Musk wrote. 马斯克随后表示，这些无人机是由军事承包商错误配置的。马斯克写道：“SpaceX 有一个名为‘星盾’的美国政府部门，它拥有一套与民用星链不同的卫星系统。制造这些自杀式无人机的公司错误地使用了民用系统，而不是‘星盾’。”
SpaceX “argued the military was underpaying.” The Pentagon “denied any violation of its agreement with SpaceX,” according to Reuters. Starshield terminals sold by SpaceX to the military can connect both to the commercial Starlink satellite constellation and Starshield, the Reuters article said. 据路透社报道，SpaceX “认为军方支付的费用过低”，而五角大楼则“否认违反了与 SpaceX 的协议”。路透社文章指出，SpaceX 出售给军方的“星盾”终端既可以连接商用星链卫星星座，也可以连接“星盾”。
The drones in question are part of the Low-cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS), which was made by defense contractor Spektreworks. We contacted Spektreworks today and will update this article if it responds. 涉事无人机属于“低成本无人作战攻击系统”（LUCAS），由国防承包商 Spektreworks 制造。我们今日已联系 Spektreworks，若收到回复将更新本文。
Musk previously addressed the military use of SpaceX satellite terminals on drones on March 1, one day after the Iran war began, in response to an X post in which a user posted a picture of one of the drones that appeared to have an integrated satellite terminal. “It is a violation of commercial Starlink terms of service to use the terminal for weapon systems. This applies to all users and is shut down when discovered,” Musk wrote at the time. “There is a separate network called Starshield, which is operated by the US government. This is not under SpaceX control.” 马斯克曾在 3 月 1 日（伊朗战争开始后一天）回应过军方在无人机上使用 SpaceX 卫星终端的问题。当时一位用户发布了一张疑似集成了卫星终端的无人机照片，马斯克回应称：“将终端用于武器系统违反了商用星链的服务条款。这适用于所有用户，一旦发现将被关闭。有一个名为‘星盾’的独立网络，由美国政府运营，这不在 SpaceX 的控制之下。”
Within weeks of the US launching strikes in Iran, “SpaceX executives met Pentagon officials and argued the military was underpaying for the service,” the Reuters article said. “SpaceX argued the LUCAS drones were operating under conditions that aligned more closely with its aviation tier subscription rather than a lower priced land or mobility service. Pentagon officials argued that the $25,000 price tag—a monthly fee—was designed for aircraft, not kamikaze drones that used [a] Starlink connection for a matter of minutes or hours, according to one of the sources,” Reuters reported. 路透社文章称，在美国对伊朗发动袭击后的几周内，“SpaceX 高管会见了五角大楼官员，认为军方支付的费用过低。SpaceX 认为 LUCAS 无人机的运行条件更符合其航空级订阅服务，而非价格较低的陆地或移动服务。据其中一位消息人士透露，五角大楼官员则认为，2.5 万美元的月费是为飞机设计的，而不是为那些仅使用星链连接几分钟或几小时的自杀式无人机设计的。”
The Pentagon “ultimately agreed to pay SpaceX’s proposed price increase” from $5,000 to $25,000, according to Reuters. LUCAS drones give the military a cheaper alternative to traditional missiles and grew out of an effort to reverse-engineer Iranian-built drones. Each drone reportedly costs about $35,000. 据路透社报道，五角大楼“最终同意支付 SpaceX 提出的涨价要求”，将费用从 5000 美元提高到 2.5 万美元。LUCAS 无人机为军方提供了一种比传统导弹更便宜的替代方案，源于对伊朗制造无人机的逆向工程研究。据报道，每架无人机的成本约为 3.5 万美元。
Despite agreeing to the price increase, “senior officials including Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg remained uneasy about the arrangement,” and Pentagon officials in April “met to revisit the pricing with Terrence O’Shaughnessy, a retired four-star Air Force general who now leads SpaceX’s defense business,” according to Reuters. 据路透社报道，尽管同意了涨价，但“包括国防部副部长史蒂夫·范伯格在内的高级官员对这一安排仍感到不安”。今年 4 月，五角大楼官员“与现任 SpaceX 防务业务负责人、退役空军四星上将特伦斯·奥肖内西会面，重新审议了定价问题”。
“Still, the Pentagon is currently considering an additional purchase of more than 3,500 Starshield terminal subscriptions, including 100 with the higher-priced aviation tier, according to Pentagon documents reviewed by Reuters,” the article said. “The deal could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue for SpaceX, though Reuters could not determine whether an agreement has been finalized, or what price is being discussed.” 文章称：“尽管如此，根据路透社查阅的五角大楼文件，五角大楼目前正在考虑额外购买超过 3500 个‘星盾’终端订阅，其中包括 100 个价格更高的航空级订阅。这笔交易可能为 SpaceX 带来每年数亿美元的收入，但路透社无法确定协议是否已经敲定，也无法确定正在讨论的具体价格。”