Starlink Restrictions Could Disrupt Ukraine’s Military Drone Network, Experts Say
Starlink is “the backbone of military communications in Ukraine” and is used across the country’s navy, army and air force, according to George Barros of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Barros, the ISW’s director of innovation and open-source tradecraft, told the BBC that restrictions on the satellite network could have a major impact. Starlink allows “drones, artillery and command posts to work as a single real-time network, minimizing sensor-to-fire time,” he said.
Why Starlink is critical to Ukraine’s military
Starlink does not operate inside Russia, but Ukrainian drones can use the satellites to communicate with their operators during attacks. Experts say there is no out-of-the-box replacement for the network’s ability to connect military systems.
Starlink-enabled interceptors are also among Ukraine’s most effective tools against Russia’s jet-powered Shahed drones, Barros said.
SpaceX restrictions have made it nearly impossible for Ukrainian forces to track Shahed drones effectively, he added. The drones can fly at speeds exceeding 198 miles per hour.
Tom Whittington, an electronic warfare expert and associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told BBC Radio 4’s PM program that Starlink enables Ukraine to move large amounts of data, including video, text messages and voice calls. It works in a similar way to a smartphone, he said, but without requiring traditional communications infrastructure.
Whittington said the system’s speed limit “effectively precludes” anything connected to the network from traveling faster than 160 miles per hour. That could make it difficult for drones to navigate within Ukraine and in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine links restrictions to tensions with Washington
Serhiy Beskhrestnov, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he believed the restrictions were not coincidental and were connected to recent tensions between Kyiv and Washington.
President Trump has criticized Ukraine’s long-range attacks on Russian oil refineries and called for new Ukrainian leadership. Elon Musk has echoed that criticism.
Ukraine’s complaints have also drawn attention to Starlink and StarShield, the military version of the satellite network developed by SpaceX for the Pentagon.
Musk said the two systems are separate but often rely on the same underlying satellite technology. In an X post, he suggested that the U.S. government could be responsible for the slowdown affecting Ukraine’s use of the technology.
“The StarShield system is owned and controlled by the U.S. government,” Musk wrote. “Speed and usage limits are determined by the U.S. military and ultimately determined by the president.”
“Starlink is a commercial service owned and managed by SpaceX. Starlink’s use is limited to civilian or defense operations and cannot be used for offensive military operations, as it would be unsuitable for a commercial enterprise.”
Starlink’s role in the Russia-Ukraine war
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukraine’s territory.
SpaceX’s satellite communications network has proved crucial to both sides during the four-year war, including during Russian attacks on moving passenger trains. Earlier this year, Musk curtailed the Russian military’s use of Starlink terminals, slowing Russia’s advance into Ukraine and causing confusion among Russian military commanders.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk