Russia launches first satellites to replace Starlink for military
Russia has begun working on Starlink replacement (illustrative photo: Getty Images)
Russia has launched into orbit the first 16 Rassvet satellites, which are intended to replace Starlink for its army. More than a dozen additional launches are planned, according to a statement by the company Bureau 1440, which is developing a satellite broadband internet system.
The first batch launch of 16 spacecraft of the target group satellite network took place on Monday, March 23.
"The launch of the first spacecraft of the target constellation marks the transition from experiments to creating a communication service. Ahead are dozens of launches and hundreds of satellites of the Russian low-orbit constellation for a communication service with global coverage," the statement said.
Initially, the space internet was planned to be used for civilian purposes, in particular in Aeroflot and Russian Railways. However, after Starlink was disabled for Russian forces, it is obvious that the satellites will be used to support Russian aggression.
For a full replacement of Starlink, Russians need to carry out more than a dozen additional launches, develop a compact and inexpensive ground terminal, and establish their mass production.
Blocking of Starlink for Russians
When Russian forces began using drones with Starlink, Ukraine appealed to SpaceX founder Elon Musk with a request to restrict their access.
After that, access to Starlink for Russian troops was blocked. As a result, Russian units on the battlefield faced massive communication disruptions, which significantly complicated the command and control of troops.
Russian forces' attempts to switch to alternative means of communication proved less effective, which created additional problems for them on the front line.
The Russian army is looking for alternatives to Starlink to control drones on the battlefield. For this purpose, Russian forces are actively using cheap drones of the Molniya type, changing their strike tactics.
