Britain has become the first country outside the U.S. to publicly acknowledge adopting Starshield, spending nearly $40 million on SpaceX satellite services. The UK military operates roughly 1,000 Starshield and 500 Starlink terminals, increasingly shifting operational communications to the military-focused Starshield network. This move deepens reliance on SpaceX infrastructure even as European governments push for greater independence from U.S. security systems.