Footage from an intercepting Ukrainian UAV shows that Russia is integrating Starlink antennas on its loitering munitions to improve communication capabilities.
Defence Blog reported that Russia is expanding the use of Starlink antennas towards loitering munitions following initial deployment on ISR UAVs.
A Ukrainian C-UAS kamikaze UAV’s footage shows what was identified as a Molniya-2 loitering munition with a conformally mounted Starlink antenna.
What makes the use of the commercial Starlink SATCOM antenna on loitering munitions is the fact that it is resistant to traditional LOS jamming methods and provides uncut communication with the control station. These factors make soft kill almost out of question and improve the guidance, as loitering munitions mostly have the operator pick the targets during the attack dive.
Starlink antennas are relatively light at no more than three kilograms, making the integration possible on a wide range of UAVs as well.
Another unconventional means of establishing communication with UAVs on the Russian side is the use of LTE modems and SIM cards, which were stated to provide long range and a disguise among the civilian traffic.
One thing that is common in these means of communication is the fact that they can be acquired almost anywhere around the world and with little to no suspicion, giving a high amount of resistance to sanctions. Russia might still keep gathering these alternative communication systems under unalarming guises even if sanctions are placed.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor: Özgür Ekşi
