Russia Suspected of Developing Weapons Against Starlink Satellites

Russia is developing anti-satellite weapons aimed at the Starlink satellites of American billionaire Elon Musk.

This was reported by the AP publication with reference to the intelligence services of two unnamed NATO countries.

The so-called ‘area effect’ weapon will be aimed at filling Starlink orbits with hundreds of thousands of high-density spherical elements, “which can disable several satellites at once, but also poses a risk of catastrophic collateral damage to other orbital systems.”

Starlink orbits are located at an altitude of about 550 kilometers above the planet.

China’s Tiangong space station and the International Space Station (ISS) operate in lower orbits, “so both are at risk.”

Experts believe that after such an attack, ‘pellets’ and satellite debris would fall to Earth, possibly damaging other orbital systems along the way.

Western intelligence believes that the purpose of this possible space sabotage by Moscow is to limit the advantage of Western countries in space, in particular Starlink satellites that help Ukraine on the battlefield.

Russian officials have repeatedly warned that commercial satellites serving the Ukrainian Defense Forces could “become legitimate targets.”

In December, Russia announced the deployment of the S-500 ground-based missile system capable of hitting low-orbit targets.

“Unlike the missile that Russia tested in 2021 to destroy a defunct Cold War satellite, the new weapon under development will target multiple Starlink satellites simultaneously, with pellets possibly fired by formations of small satellites that have not yet been launched, according to intelligence findings,” the AP publication said.

Brigadier General Christopher Horner, commander of the Canadian Armed Forces’ space division, told the agency that such developments by Russia “cannot be ruled out” in light of previous US statements that Moscow is working on indiscriminate space-based nuclear weapons.

In November, a group of researchers from the Beijing Institute of Technology simulated the complete jamming of Starlink in Taiwan.