26 September 2024

Russia has installed Starlink terminals in its Iranian-designed Shahed drones, according to a Ukrainian media report, which would mark the latest upgrade to the destructive kamikaze drones long used against Ukrainian cities if confirmed.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down a Shahed-136 attack drone that was fitted with Starlink during aerial attacks overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, Ukrainian outlet Defense Express reported. Early on Wednesday, Ukraine's air force said it had intercepted 28 out of 32 Shahed drones launched from Russia's Kursk and Krasnodar regions.

Ukraine's air force declined to directly address the reported discovery of Starlink within a Shahed drone when approached by Newsweek, but said Ukrainian experts were studying targets shot down by air defenses. Ukrainian teams investigating the changes to Russian drone designs have not yet received the wreckage of the downed drone, Newsweek understands.

Defense Express shared images purporting to show the drone fitted with Starlink...

Kyiv has leaned heavily on Starlink's internet access for battlefield communications and for controlling Ukraine's vast drone fleets...

Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian GUR military intelligence agency, told Ukrainian media at the time that Russian use of Starlink was becoming "systemic."

Starlink is owned and operated by entrepreneur Elon Musk's aerospace firm, SpaceX, and accounts for a huge percentage of active satellites. Musk has vehemently denied that Starlink is being sold to Russia.

SpaceX said earlier this year that it does not "do business of any kind with the Russian government or its military"...

"Starlink is not active in Russia, meaning service will not work in that country," the company said in a statement. "SpaceX has never sold or marketed Starlink in Russia, nor has it shipped equipment to locations in Russia. If Russian stores are claiming to sell Starlink for service in that country, they are scamming their customers."