A global outage in Elon Musk’s Starlink network disrupted US Navy drone tests, cutting communications and leaving approximately two dozen unmanned surface vessels adrift off California for nearly an hour.

The fleet was part of an effort to expand autonomous capabilities for potential conflict scenarios, but lost contact with operators when the satellite connectivity failed, according to internal documents reviewed by Reuters.

The incident, documented in August 2025, was one of several test disruptions tied to Starlink issues.

One recent occurrence was recorded during exercises in April 2025, which also flagged performance under heavy data traffic.

“Starlink reliance exposed limitations under multiple-vehicle load,” the government paper stated, citing difficulty maintaining stable connections while controlling a drone swarm.

Risks of Single Constellation Provider

Starlink has become central to US Department of Defense programs, supporting unmanned systems, missile tracking, and communications through a low-Earth orbit network of thousands of satellites.

Its scale offers broad coverage and resilience, but sources said the series of incidents with the navy highlight risks tied to dependence on a single provider.

“If there was no Starlink, the US ​government wouldn’t have access to a global constellation of low earth orbit communications,” said Clayton Swope of the Washington-based research organization Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Despite the setbacks, experts said the constellation’s proven effectiveness and affordability remain decisive.

“You accept those vulnerabilities because of the benefits you get from the ubiquity it provides,” said Bryan Clark, a naval operations and autonomous warfare analyst at the Hudson Institute.

The Pentagon did not address the tests but said it relies on “multiple, robust, resilient systems,” while the US Navy and Starlink operator SpaceX did not comment on the matter, according to Reuters.