Illustrative photo: The Ukrainian Armed Forces access the classified Starshield signal (Getty Images)

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SpaceX has got a Pentagon contract to expand Ukraine’s access to a more secure, militarized version of its Starlink satellite network, Starshield.

An additional 2,500 Starlink terminals in Ukraine will now have access to Starshield’s secret and encrypted signal. Previously, only 500 terminals were connected to Starshield, but now there are 3,000 in total. The contract to provide access to Starlink terminals in Ukraine was signed in August but was not disclosed.

“A total of 3,000 terminals are provided service via the two contracts,” according to a statement to Bloomberg News from the Space Systems Command’s Commercial Satellite Office. The contracts share a common purpose “to facilitate internet connectivity in Ukraine,” it said. “Both provide service into 2025.”

The new contract was awarded under the Space Force’s “Proliferated Low Earth Orbit” program, which provides communications services to satellites orbiting 100 to 1,200 miles above Earth.

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