SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites as part of a secret contract with the US intelligence agency, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the program.

The network is being built by SpaceX's Starshield business unit as part of a $1.8 billion contract signed in 2021 with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the agency that operates the spy satellites, the sources said.

The sources said that if successful, the program would significantly improve the ability of the US government and military to quickly detect potential targets almost anywhere in the world.

The sources said the contract signals the intelligence establishment's growing confidence in the company, whose owner has clashed with the Joe Biden administration and sparked controversy over the use of Starlink satellite communications in the war in Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal reported in February on the existence of a secret Starshield contract worth $1.8 billion with an unknown intelligence agency without detailing the program's objectives.