(Photo by Viktor Fridshon/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Despite efforts to stop Russia from using Starlink, evidence is emerging that the country is fitting the satellite internet system on military drones to attack Ukraine.
Ukrainian news outlet Defense Express has published photos of a Russian drone that was shot down while carrying out an attack on Wednesday. What stands out is that the drone was found lying next to a destroyed Starlink dish.
In addition, the photos show the Starlink logo on the dish, along with an apparent serial number and QR code from SpaceX.
The drone, an 11-foot-long Iranian Shahed-136, was among 32 drones that attacked that night, according to Defense Express. Previous Shahed-136 units have been found to communicate over 4G using SIM cards, including from Ukrainian cellular providers.
However, fitting a Starlink dish on the drone could give it another way to communicate with the Russian military when no cellular signal is available. Instead, Starlink uses SpaceX’s orbiting satellites to send and receive internet signals.
The discovery raises concerns that Russia is harnessing Starlink for long-range drone missions since the Shahed-136 can travel up to 1,600 miles. This would give the Kremlin a way to perform reconnaissance and military strikes deep within Ukrainian territory. (Ukraine has also been using Starlink to help communicate with its own drones.)
SpaceX and the Pentagon have been trying to stop the Kremlin’s use of Starlink units that have been smuggled to Russian soldiers. Although SpaceX has blocked Starlink access within Russia itself, the satellite internet system remains online within Ukraine and along the borders between the two countries. In February, Ukraine claimed that Russian soldiers were using thousands of smuggled Starlink dishes in occupied areas of the country.
SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But in May, the Pentagon indicated it’s facing a whack-a-mole situation with Russia’s use of Starlink. Although the US Defense Department has come up with ways to block the Starlink access, “I am certain Russia will continue to try and find ways to exploit Starlink and other commercial communications systems," John Plumb, the Pentagon's assistant secretary of defense for space policy, told Bloomberg at the time.