Russia's War Drones Still Using Starlink Despite Pentagon Crackdown
9 days ago
- #Russia-Ukraine War
- #Satellite Communications
- #Military Technology
- Russia continues to equip military drones with Starlink terminals despite US efforts to block unauthorized use.
- Recent imagery shows a Russian 'Molniya'-type drone with a mini-Starlink unit near Pokrovsk, Ukraine.
- Starlink integration on Russian drones enables extended-range communications for reconnaissance and strike missions.
- Ukrainian forces have documented Starlink use on Shahed-136 and RD-8 'mothership' drones.
- US DoD claimed to disable hundreds of unauthorized Starlink terminals, but Russian forces still acquire them unofficially.
- Ukraine is exploring alternative European satellite providers for secure military communications.
- SpaceX has not issued an official response regarding the latest reports.
- Russian forces reportedly obtain Starlink terminals via black-market channels for battlefield coordination.