Starlink antenna secretly mounted on US warship

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For months, a Starlink antenna secretly installed on a US warship remained undetected, even though it spread a Wi-Fi signal called STINKY and was networked with cables and repeaters throughout the ship. Some of the crew wanted to have Internet access on the high seas just like at home, but private Internet access is a security risk and therefore prohibited. Although STINKY did not go undetected, three ship-wide searches of the USS Manchester found nothing. The "ingenious trick": the antenna was lashed down on deck, where nobody was looking.

Only a civilian, who had to set up a military Starlink system (Spaceshield) during a stopover in a port, found the telltale white civilian antenna and reported it. The unauthorized antenna was then removed – and reinstalled the next day. The operator, a high-ranking non-commissioned officer on the US Navy ship, was able to claim that the antenna was authorized for use in port, although this was not true. When the matter really came to light a week later, the NCOs tried to find a scapegoat. In the end, there were penalties for around 15 NCOs and a military criminal conviction for the sailor who orchestrated STINKY.

STINKY becomes a printer

As the Navy Times reports on the basis of military documents, the woman with the rank of Command Senior Chief (NATO code OR-9) purchased a Starlink High Performance Kit in March 2023 at a price of 2,800 US dollars and smuggled it on board the ship, which was built for coastal warfare. As part of a rappelling operation, an unidentified person installed the antenna on an outside deck by lashing it to a wooden pallet with cable ties.

The seaman only instructed 15 seamen of the same, highest non-commissioned officer rank. They were only allowed to use the WLAN in their cabin and had to pay one-sixteenth of the monthly Starlink bill of 1,000 dollars. When the ship set off on a mission in the Western Pacific, it turned out that the WLAN did not reach all cabins. During a stay in Pearl Harbor in late April or early May 2023, the woman procured Ethernet cables and repeaters to make the secret Internet access available throughout the ship. The purchase was made in a US Navy store of all places, but apparently attracted just as little attention as the new cables on board.

However, the WLAN did attract attention on the ship, as it was probably set up in such a way that everyone could see the SSID. Other crew members soon asked about STINKY, whereupon the woman renamed the SSID so that it looked like a WLAN printer. There are no such printers on the ship.

Three unsuccessful searches

The NCO lied to a superior officer several times; in June 2023, she also stole a written message from a mailbox on board. Lower ranks would also have liked to have internet access and felt disadvantaged. A search found nothing. In July, another written communication did reach the commander, who had a second search carried out, without any results. The commander then announced that there was no WLAN on board. A third unsuccessful search followed in August after another report by a seaman who had disembarked. Nobody thought to search on deck.

It was only the civilian who had to install SpaceX Starshield equipment who happened to spot the unexpected Starlink antenna, took a photo and got the ball rolling. When the installation could no longer be denied, the operator claimed that it had only been used in ports. Less strict guidelines apply there for US warships. As "proof", she presented a manipulated excerpt from the usage history of her Starlink account, but it was so badly manipulated that it quickly became apparent.

Partial confession

Finally, the non-commissioned officer made a partial confession: before a military court in San Diego, she pleaded guilty to willful neglect of duty and two counts of lying to superiors. She pleaded not guilty to obstruction of justice, but was also found guilty of this. In March 2024, her pay grade was reduced by two ranks.

To make matters worse, the woman had previously worked in the US Navy's intelligence service and specialized in IT security and digital management as part of her business studies. "Her training as an IT should have taught her that commercial equipment would not be allowed on board the ship without (special approval)," the ruling states, "This same experience and training should have made her realize that such an application would not have been approved because of the lack of signal limiting and security hardening."

Internet is good for morale

Meanwhile, the US Navy itself is installing Starlink on warships to keep the crew happy. This project was initiated by an officer on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. It uses a device called Sailor Edge Afloat and Ashore (SEA2), which contains special precautions for IT security. First tested in 2022, SEA2 is now being installed at high pressure on as many ships as possible.

A press release from August 20 , which has since been deleted, describes the enormous benefits. Internet access has "completely transformed what life at sea means on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. Sailors' morale and work performance are boosted by the fast, stable and secure connection. A new Internet culture has developed around safe and healthy Wi-Fi use aboard an active warship. Last February, during the SEA2 test phase, there was a live Super Bowl party, which has never been done before."

The fact that the approval process for SEA2 only took five months shows just how urgent the US Navy is. Normally something like this takes years.

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