11 July 2025
In July, Elon Musk’s SpaceX marked a significant milestone in Q2 2025 by completing its 500th defense-related payload launch. The company’s ongoing partnership with the U.S. Space Force and allied nations has helped with the rapid expansion of military-grade LEO constellations, with the last year seeing Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets delivering over 220 government or military-related missions. These LEO constellations are now accounting for a 45% increase in dual-use satellite deployments year-over-year.
According to McKinsey’s 2024 Space Commercialization Index shows that 38% of all new government satellite orders in the last year involved SpaceX rockets. Adding to this, the company’s Starshield initiative has received over US$6 billion in commitments from several NATO partners. Data from SIPRI also backs this up, showing that between 2023 and 2024, the worldwide defense satellite launches went up by a whopping 32%. Increases in production scaling have led to Falcon 9 standard launches now costing US$62 million, which is 40% cheaper than government launches. Coupled with its 97% success rate across 16 Starlink V2 demos last year, the table is set for an era of reliable, rapid-response defense orbit capabilities. Following SpaceX’s lead, traditional aerospace players like United Launch Alliance (ULA) are reportedly pivoting towards compact, agile launches to stay competitive.
The defense payload market, which stood at $3.6 billion in 2020, is projected to exceed US$ 9.2 billion by 2026, fuelled by both intelligence and rapid-response applications. As traditional satellite OEMs struggle with cost overruns, SpaceX’s modularized, reusable model has redefined procurement expectations.
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