June 11, 2025: Starlink is suspected of mischief. Yemen’s Shia Houthi rebels have been devastated by weeks of intense Israeli and American airstrikes. These attacks continued with increasing accuracy. The Houthis couldn’t do anything about satellite or aerial surveillance, so they decided to go after nearby suspects. That meant searching for and seizing Starlink terminals owned by Yemeni families and businesses. Starlink is a simple, inexpensive system to connect anyone with thousands of Starlink communications in orbit above the earth. This gives the user access to all the electronic media in the world. Much of it is free or easily stolen. Starlink's widespread use in Yemen led the Houthis to believe it was the key means of disloyal locals to let the enemy know where Houthis weapons and other assets were.

Starlink plays a small role in finding and identifying targets for airstrikes. All its satellites carry optical sensors which software using multiple Starlink satellites converts in Very Large Array cameras capable of picking out amazingly small details on the Earth. This is invaluable for military targeting. Seizing all the local Starlink terminals just made the locals angrier at the Houthi response and more willing to use their cellphone or other communications device to let the outside world know where Houthi targets are. Starlink plays an additional role in finding and identifying targets for airstrikes. All its satellites carry optical sensors which software using multiple Starlink satellites converts in Very Large Array cameras capable of picking out amazingly small details on the Earth. This is invaluable for military targeting.

The Houthis are a radical clan militia from the Shia minority in northern Yemen. For over a decade the Houthis have been disrupting life and the economy in Yemen. Houthi control in Yemen is diminishing because of the recent air strikes and diminished even more by the seizure of Starlink terminals.