Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system is helping Ukrainian forces in the drone war as the nation fights back with technology to track down invading Russians.
Aerorozvidka (Aerial Reconnaissance) is being used to attack Russian drones and target Vladmir Putin’s army of tanks and track down their positions in the conflict, which has been ongoing since February 24, according to The Telegraph.
Drones used in the field are able to use the newly available Starlink to keep connected and provide intelligence as internet and power outages plague Ukraine.
With the technology, the drones can be directed to drop anti-tank munitions to help ward off the Russian attack.
The so-far-successful implementation of the satellites into the defense of the war-torn nation makes good on a promise outspoken mogul Musk – who challenged Putin to a fist fight for the future of Ukraine earlier this week – made to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier in the month, that SpaceX will send more Starlink satellite stations to provide internet to some of the country’s stricken cities.
The president of the embattled country took to Twitter to thank the Tesla CEO, 50, for the support, and invited the tech mogul to visit Ukraine once the war is over.
‘Talked to @elonmusk. I’m grateful to him for supporting Ukraine with words and deeds. Next week we will receive another batch of Starlink systems for destroyed cities,’ Zelensky wrote at the time.
Early Saturday morning, a further 53 Starlink internet satellites were launched into space via rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, further bolstering the burgeoning surveillance network.
SpaceX said Saturday that the 230-foot rocket, dubbed the Falcon 9, launched the satellites into low orbit without a hitch.
The Ukrainians are also enlisting the help of PD-1 unmanned aerial vehicles fitted with infrared sensors. With a wingspan of 10 feet, the vehicles are being used to collect vital information on the movements of Russian troops.
The Ukrainian drone unit uses a ‘Delta’ system, which has been perfected in recent years with the help of Western advisers.
It can be accessed by basic laptops, and has a ‘situational awareness’ software installed, which creates an interactive map using images from drones, satellites, human intelligence and sensors to build a physical picture to help in tracking the enemy.
The system, which is said to be on par with similar NATO technology, is believed to have been tested in the Sea Breeze military exercise held in the Black Sea in 2021, which involved the USA, Ukraine and 30 other countries.
The Ukrainians have perfected the system with the help of Western countries, who have provided radio communications superior to Soviet-era technology. The US is said to have spent millions of dollars on the system to protect against Russian hacking.
Starlink, however – now the most popular app in Ukraine, with more than 100,000 downloads in the few weeks since it went live – uses terminals that resemble TV dishes equipped with antennas that have so far addressed those concerns, with the satellites mounted on roofs to allow Ukraine citizens to access the Internet via satellite in rural or disconnected areas.
Ukraine has so far received thousands of antennas from Musk’s companies and European allies, which the country’s minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, saying the tech has already proved ‘very effective,’ in an interview with The Washington Post Friday.
‘The quality of the link is excellent,’ Fedorov, 31, told the paper from an undisclosed location in the country, in remote interview made possible by a Starlink connection.
‘We are using thousands, in the area of thousands, of terminals with new shipments arriving every other day,’ the official revealed, speaking on how the satellites have proved instrumental in helping citizens and leaders communicate as the Kremlin continues its large-scale attacks in cities across Ukraine.
Shortly after the invasion, Fedorov, who also serves as the country’s vice-prime minister, had sent a tweet to Musk, asking to be given access to Starlink stations.
Musk, currently valued at $232 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaire‘s Index, responded just hours later: ‘Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.’
Within days, trucks arrived at Ukraine hauling Starlink terminals, as well as adapters providing power via cigarette lighters in cars, or battery packs, and a roaming feature to ensure people are connected while they travel to safety.
Starlink uses thousands of small satellites around 340 miles above the earth’s surface.
Base stations on earth send radio waves up to the satellites, which beam those down to a satellite dish terminal back on the planet.
The aim of the system is to bring internet access to rural and poorly connected parts of the world. It has allowed internet connections to travel quickly, with more speed provided due to travelling through space.
The lower orbit of Starlink also allows signals to travel even faster.
Over 2,000 satellites have been sent up to space so far, and there are plans to launch around 12,000 in total.
The usefulness of the system has now reached into military operations, with the Ukrainian drone armies of ‘Aerorozvidka’ being able to use it to continue communicating with their bases by sending signals from Starlink terminals and using ground stations in neighboring countries, including Poland.
The Aerorozvidka unit was formed by a group of civilian model airplane enthusiasts and those with a background in engineering in 2014 following the outbreak of war in eastern Ukraine.
The group helped to build drones and sensors for the military to monitor the border, and helped to adapt commercially available drones to gather intelligence and even drop homemade explosives.
Eventually, the system was integrated into the Ukrainian armed forces.
Source: Daily Mail