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According to a recent assessment appraising the counterspace resources of a dozen nations over the past year, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite array encounters dangers from Russia and China because it was employed for military application in Ukraine following Russia’s intrusion of the country in 2022.
The assessment, issued on April 3 by the impartial policy think tank Secure World Foundation (SWF), underscores how humankind’s increasing reliance on space — notably for state security — has prompted an expanding quantity of countries to evolve their own counterspace tools. The 316-page paper evaluates the counterspace proficiencies of 12 countries including the U.S., Russia, China, India, Australia in addition to North Korea and South Korea, grounded on publicly accessible data spanning February 2024 through February of this year.
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SpaceX’s Starlink utilizes a vast network of satellites in low Earth orbit to deliver high-speed broadband access. Ukrainian citizens commenced employing Starlink in 2022 to sustain internet access after Ukraine’s own internet offerings were hampered following Russia’s incursion. The offering also permitted secure communications for the Ukrainian military and administration. However, commencing in May 2024, the Ukrainian military began undergoing blackouts in Starlink hookups, with military authorities attributing the disturbances to Russia “assessing distinct mechanisms” for its electronic warfare platforms seemingly utilizing novel and more cutting-edge technology.
The SWF assessment mentions divulged U.S. military documents that imply a Russian system dubbed Tobol — that was initially crafted to safeguard Russian satellites from obstruction — was employed to disrupt Starlink commercial satellite signals over Ukrainian land. Those leaked papers “propose that Russia has utilized at least three Tobol installations to endeavor to disrupt Starlink commercial satellite signals over Eastern Ukraine,” the assessment indicates.
Russia also seems to be generating a more modern, more refined system designated Kalinka, which is planned to perceive and disrupt signals to and from Starlink satellites to interfere with Ukrainian drones and military interactions, according to the SWF assessment. Andrei Bezrukov, the head of the Russian Center for Unmanned Systems and Technologies, which is growing the Kalinka system, informed state media that the so-called “Starlink killer” could also perceive communication terminals affixed to Starshield, the military variant of Starlink that’s created with heightened security elements.
Further reports unveiled that Russia had interfered with GPS signals in four European nations: France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Luxembourg. There have also been reports that Russia disrupted children’s TV stations in these countries to transmit visuals of the war in Ukraine. The International Telecommunication Union’s Radio Regulations Board has stated the disturbance probably originated from stations in Moscow, Kaliningrad and Pavlovka.
“As of February 2025, the Starlink service appears to have demonstrated noteworthy resistance to subsequent cyber offensives,” the assessment states.
As per the SWF assessment, China is investing in analogous capabilities for potential future armed conflicts with the U.S.
In July of the past year, researchers from the People’s Liberation Army Navy proposed laser-geared submarines with retractable masts that could surface to aim for Starlink satellites or other space-based surveillance arrangements, although the researchers recognized that the submarines’ restricted detection competencies would demand external forces to furnish satellite position guidance for precise targeting.
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Simultaneously, the U.S. Space Force is examining novel satellite jammers termed the Remote Modular Terminals, planned to operate remotely and offer counterspace electronic warfare capacity, the assessment indicates.
“Everyone is jamming,” Victoria Samson, the director of Secure World’s Washington office and one of the report’s principal writers, informed Breaking Defense earlier this week.
Thus far, only non-destructive counterspace proficiencies are being actively deployed against satellites in existing military operations, the assessment points out.
TOPICSChinastarlink
Sharmila KuthunurSocial Links NavigationLive Science contributor
Sharmila Kuthunur is an independent space journalist based in Bengaluru, India. Her work has also appeared in Scientific American, Science, Astronomy and Space.com, among other publications. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Northeastern University in Boston. Follow her on BlueSky @skuthunur.bsky.social
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