Bryan Bender

The United States, European Union and other NATO countries have donated billions of dollars in military equipment to Ukraine since the war began in late February. But Elon Musk’s Starlink—based on a cluster of table-sized satellites flying as low as 130 miles above Ukraine and beaming down high-speed internet access—has become an unexpected lifeline to the country: both on the battlefield and in the war for public opinion. Ukrainian drones have relied on Starlink to drop bombs on Russian forward positions.

In the race to dominate 5G, the Pentagon is the force causing the most concern. The most coveted piece of spectrum is the “mid-band,” a set of frequencies that can carry far more data than current cellphone signals. Since the 1960s, rights over much of the mid-band have been claimed by government agencies, most notably the Department of Defense, which says it needs to use mid-band waves for research and military communications.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said that he has submitted his resignation to President Barack Obama and will not stay on past the transition to Donald Trump.

Director Clapper offered the news during his opening statement in a rare open hearing of the House Intelligence Committee after the panel's Ranking Member, Rep Adam Schiff (D-CA), said he had heard rumors that the spy chief might stay on into the Trump Administration, That's not going to happen, Director Clapper said. "I submitted my letter of resignation last night, which felt pretty good," he said. "I got 64 days left, and I think I'd have a hard time with my wife anything past that." Director Clapper, a retired Air Force lieutenant general who took on the intelligence director role in 2010, had long said he would be done after 2016. He will finish out his term at noon on Jan. 20, his office said afterward.