Moscow:
Of great concern to Ukraine and its allies, as well as to US billionaire Elon Musk, the Russian military has reportedly developed an advanced system that can detect and locate signals from enemy unmanned combat aircraft (UAVs) that connect to satellite systems such as Starlink. . The new Russian system, also called the 'Starlink killer', is officially called the 'Kalinka monitoring system'.
The United States delivered a large number of Starlink communications terminals from SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, to the Ukrainian military after the escalation of the Russian offensive in February 2022. Ukrainian armed forces have been actively using Starlink to coordinate their military operations and connect with air and naval drones that Kyiv uses for attacks on civilian infrastructure in Russia.
About the 'Starlink Killer'
The new state-of-the-art Kalinka monitoring system was developed by the Russian Center for Unmanned Systems and Technologies (CBST), according to a report by Sputnik news agency.
Andrey Bezrukov, chairman of the CBST board, claimed on Saturday that Russian forces are currently testing the new system in Ukraine, which can detect air and maritime drones up to 15 kilometers away.
He said the Kalinka system could help the Russian military quickly detect and target Starlink terminals as “the basic principles of radio signal transmission have not changed since the invention of radio.” This could reportedly enable, among other things, the identification of unmanned boats and the so-called 'Baba Yaga' drones.
Mr. Bezrukov claimed that Kalinka can even control communications terminals from Starshield, a militarized version of Starlink. He explained that the detection range of the new system is mainly determined by the terrain in the search area and the use of other electronic systems by enemy forces.
Regarding the time it would take to launch mass production of the Kalinka system, Mr. Bezrukov said it would depend on the demand of Russian forces operating in the conflict zone.
What is Starlink?
SpaceX's Starlink is a satellite-based Internet service that provides high-speed broadband Internet access anywhere in the world. It works by transporting data via light, similar to a fiber-optic cable, using a constellation of small satellites in low Earth orbit to deliver internet directly to users on the ground.
The Starlink program aims to provide internet access to regions with limited telecommunications infrastructure and has proven to be of great importance to the Ukrainian armed forces affected by the Russian offensive. The Ukrainian military used the Starlink network to connect and fly drones to attack Russian forces. They also used it to send back videos to correct artillery fire and to enable mobile networks with encrypted group chats that connect Ukrainian commanders with their soldiers on the battlefield.