Starlink rival Amazon Leo tops 400Mbps in US Army satellite internet test

Amazon's Leo satellite network delivered peak download speeds of more than 400Mbps during a live demonstration for the US Army at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, the company announced on Tuesday.

The Army's Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) C5ISR Center hosted the session, which ran on Leo Pro, Amazon's primary customer antenna. Participants used a laptop to send and receive data over the network as recently launched Leo satellites crossed overhead. The audience included more than 30 Army representatives. Amazon rates Leo Pro at up to 400Mbps, so the recorded peak surpassed the antenna's advertised maximum. The company did not publish upload speeds, latency, or average throughput from the test.

Liz Martin, head of government at Amazon Leo, described the demonstration as “an important step toward an expanded partnership” with the Army. She cited Amazon's history of providing cloud and connectivity services to the Army and said the company would keep supporting its needs as the constellation grows.

The two sides' plan follow-up trials covering higher-speed links, use on the move, and integration with the Army's current tactical networks. Amazon said the end goal is to take capabilities validated in testing and put them into soldiers' hands in the field.

Leo Pro measures 11 by 11 inches, about 28cm square, and weighs roughly 2.4kg. Amazon positions it between the 7-inch Leo Nano, rated at 100Mbps, and the enterprise-focused Leo Ultra, which the company says reaches 1Gbps download and 400Mbps upload speeds.

Amazon has manufactured more than 1,000 Leo satellites and has close to 400 in low Earth orbit. SpaceX's Starlink operates more than 11,000. Amazon's first-generation constellation is planned at more than 3,200 satellites. Chris Weber, who leads Amazon Leo's consumer and enterprise business, has claimed the network holds about a threefold download advantage and an eight- to tenfold upload advantage over Starlink.

Amazon renamed the program from Project Kuiper to Amazon Leo in November 2025, the same month it began shipping Leo Pro and Leo Ultra terminals to select enterprise customers for a preview. The company has said it is on course to launch commercial service later this year.

Amazon Leo's government unit is also preparing to demonstrate a link between its satellites and the US Space Force's Space Data Network. Amazon was one of five vendors that shared $60 million in contracts in August to test whether satellites from different manufacturers can serve as orbital routers for the network's Backbone constellation, which SpaceX is building.