Elon Musk-led SpaceX is building hundreds of spy satellites under a classified with the US’s National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the intelligence agency that manages spy satellites, Reuters reported.

The spy satellites are being built by SpaceX’s Starshield business unit under a $1.8 billion contract that was signed between the space tech giant and the NRO in 2021.

As per the report, the project highlights the extent of SpaceX’s involvement in US intelligence and military projects. It also shows a deeper Pentagon investment into vast, low Earth orbiting satellite systems that are aimed at supporting ground forces.

The programme if successful, will significantly advance the ability of the US military to quickly spot potential targets almost anywhere on the globe. It also signals growing trust by the intelligence establishment of a company whose owner clashed with the Biden administration and triggered controversy over the use of Starlink satellite connectivity in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Earlier in February, The Wall Street Journal had reported about a classified $1.8 billion Starshield contract with an unknown intelligence agency. No details about this programme were reported.

As per the Reuters report, the SpaceX contract is for a new spy system with hundreds of satellites bearing Earth-imaging capabilities that can operate as a swarm in low orbits, and that the spy agency that Musk’s company is working with is the NRO.

It is not known when the new network of satellites would come online and could not establish what other companies are part of the programme with their own contracts.

SpaceX, the world’s largest satellite operator, did not respond to several Reuters requests for comment about the contract, its role in it and details on satellite launches. The Pentagon referred a request for comment to the NRO and SpaceX.

“The National Reconnaissance Office is developing the most capable, diverse, and resilient space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system the world has ever seen,” an NRO spokesperson was quoted by Reuters as saying.