It has been known since the project’s inception that a significant portion of the Starlink system’s equipment (gateways) is located on the ground and performs a function that is no less important than that of the orbital segment. It cannot be otherwise—the expansion of the network and user base is primarily due to the ground segment. Starlink’s connections to points on the global network that can be attacked by hackers cannot be severed.
Yesterday evening, for two and a half hours, the Ukrainian army was unable to communicate with its units, intelligence data transmission came to a standstill (remember that under the new practice, this is an online process), target designation ceased, and with it, counter-battery warfare and shelling in the interests of operational groups. The Armed Forces of Ukraine immediately began to switch to radio communication wherever possible. The saturation of army communications equipment and its quality in the Ukrainian army make it possible to abandon satellite communications, albeit with serious losses in quality and controllability.
The Starlink system provided a stable broadband satellite communication channel to consumers for whom it was not originally intended—the armed forces. An assessment of the short-term paralysis of satellite communications is still ahead. Since this is a highly classified area, we are unlikely to learn any important details. Leaks will primarily harm the Pentagon and Musk.
But it is already clear that the communications of any future army must be built with redundancy using different technological solutions. Their speed, signal delay, and stability must compensate for the loss of army traffic due to random causes and in combat. Yesterday’s solutions — quickly assembled networks of ground cables using UAVs — may well get a new lease on life.
The temporary paralysis of Starlink on July 24 is a dire warning to all those caught up in the euphoria of space technology. After all, in addition to hackers, there are also saboteurs with drones — Starlink’s ground servers are very fragile. It is likely that the advantage in this new race will go to those who have a more flexible and responsive military machine, as well as more competent and younger leadership in cutting-edge areas. And it is quite possible that the development of alternative means of communication should be entrusted to civilians. Elon Musk did it faster, better, and much cheaper than the Pentagon.
