SpaceX begins countering Shahed drones using Starlink – Fedorov's adviser
Serhii Beskrestnov ("Flash"), an adviser to Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, said this in a post on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.
According to him, many users of the Starlink satellite communications system in Ukraine are already observing the first countermeasures taken by SpaceX at the ministry's request.
"I cannot publicly disclose everything that has already been done, is being done, and will be done, but all these actions are aimed at one goal: protecting the people of our country (both military and civilian) and our infrastructure facilities from the threat posed by the enemy's attack UAVs," Beskrestnov said.
He stressed that the current solutions are temporary (or emergency measures) and will be replaced by a global, well-thought-out solution that will take time to implement.
In his opinion, the time has long come to collect nationwide information on SpaceX service users in the military.
"I won't hide it – such attempts have already been made, but many soldiers who use volunteer-provided Starlinks and personal Starlinks did not want to provide information to their command. What if a commander takes it away, or a new one is not issued, or something else happens? We will definitely come up with a way to collect this information across the military so that soldiers trust us with it," Beskrestnov said.
He also noted that SpaceX is involved in the process and is assisting specialists from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.
As previously reported, according to Beskrestnov, Russian forces used Shahed drones equipped with Starlink satellite internet terminals near Kropyvnytskyi, striking helicopters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
On January 29, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said that the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, together with SpaceX, had already begun working on a solution to the problem of Russian drones using Starlink satellite communications.
SpaceX owner, U.S. billionaire Elon Musk, responded to Fedorov's message thanking him for his assistance in addressing the issue of Starlink terminals being used on Russian UAVs.
Photo: ArmyInform