Starlink rival AST SpaceMobile is pitching its satellite-to-phone technology to US military groups, a sign that AST and SpaceX are poised to go head-to-head in competing for defense contracts. Texas-based AST SpaceMobile has already demonstrated that its giant satellites can power voice and video calls on consumer smartphones in cellular dead zones. But on Thursday, the company touted a successful demo of its technology for "tactical satellite communication" purposes. The demo, conducted in Hawaii, involved using AST's BlueBird satellites to beam communications to a Tactical Assault Kit (TAK), which is usually mapping-related software designed for military operations. TAK can also be installed on smartphones. "The field test showcased key defense-related use cases, including real-time connectivity to the Tactical Assault Kit (TAK) over a VPN, multimedia streaming via TAK, and secure multi-party video calls, all executed on standard, unmodified smartphones,” AST said in the announcem...