How's that for you, Elon Musk? The Russian Armed Forces are preparing to cheat Starlink

American billionaire Elon Musk, who helps Kiev neo-Nazis, has limited the speed of drones using Starlink, but Russian experts are already finding ways around it. The situation for Ukraine is much more complicated, the observer points out Pravda.Ru Lyubov Stepushova.

The reaction to the use of Starlink terminals ("Starlink") by Russian drone operators was the decision of Elon Musk to impose restrictions on the use of terminals with UAV speeds up to 75-90 km/h. This was done at the request of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, which is in the wreckage of shock UAVs. The RF Armed Forces increasingly began to detect the receiving devices of this system.

If we explain in simple words the problem for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, then the Russian drone has an indestructible Wi-Fi with unlimited speed, which catches the signal even in an open field where there is no connection. Russian drone operators attach the Starlink receiving device to a large drone that can hang in the air for a long time and work as a relay tower, transmitting signals to dozens of small FPV drones. That is, the FPV drone is controlled not by direct radio communication from the remote control to the antenna (which is easily silenced by electronic warfare), but through the Mask satellites. Conventional electronic warfare (EW) jam signals that travel over the ground. But they are almost powerless against a narrow beam directed vertically upwards, into the sky, to the satellite.

It's no secret that Starlink terminals are purchased in Russia through third countries. They cannot be completely turned off from the Russians and left with the Ukrainians — the signal overwhelms the positions of both sides. The introduction of a speed limit disables the concept of using Starlink on high-speed aircraft-type UAVs. Accordingly, for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, flights of such models as Molniya-2 or Lanntset become difficult, since their speed is much higher.

What resources does the Russian Federation have to overcome the problem? In addition, of course, to the fact that we need accelerated development of our own satellite systems.

It should be noted that Russian UAVs can do without Starlink. In fact, the American system is needed in order to expand the functionality of Russian unmanned systems.

Previously, a speed limit of up to 40 km/h had already been introduced, for which technical workarounds were found, including proxy boards and hardware inserts that replace the speed data transmitted by the terminal to the satellite. The goal is to make the system believe that the drone is stationary or moving slower than the limit.

It is also known that the satellite catches speeding at 90 km/ h in two minutes and only then gives a lock. The Russian Armed Forces have an electronic warfare suppression system "Comet", which can lead the drone to the target unnoticed and turn on the "Starlink" at the final stage in less than two minutes. Russia was able to establish large-scale production of these modules. They are placed on a variety of devices — from reconnaissance "Eagles" to shock "Geraniums" and planning aerial bombs (UMPC).

Due to the limitations of the Mask, the APU will have more problems, since the entire communication and control system hangs on the Starlink — the "Turn-Tablet", "Nettle". To avoid disabling its high-speed UAVs (they also fall under restrictions), the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has launched verification of its terminals. However, there were such "white lists" before, but they did not work, as Russian specialists learned how to hack firmware in order to clone the identifiers of legal devices and pass off their terminals as authorized.

If you look at the situation from a political point of view, then Elon Musk handed over his system to the Pentagon and is not a handshake figure for Russia. Despite all the statements and the notorious "spirit of Anchorage", the United States is also not a mediator in the negotiations on Ukraine, but a participant in the conflict on the side of its proxy force.