Russia’s failure to place satellites into orbit that could enable it to control its strike drones may only be temporary, and Ukraine should already be actively developing an electronic warfare system to protect key infrastructure from this threat, Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhiy “Flash” Beskrestnov has warned.
“I see that many people have been reassured by Russia’s failures to put the Rassvet satellites into orbit. I am confident that they will refine the engines and the satellites will reach the required orbits. Russia is a space power, and it is entirely possible that an Angara rocket could ‘unexpectedly’ put half of the Rassvet satellite constellation into orbit in a single launch. This would give Russian forces the ability to control Shahed drones and missiles online via satellites,” Beskrestnov wrote.
According to him, this would be a “huge problem” for Ukraine.
“No, it would not even be a problem — it would be a small catastrophe,” the presidential adviser added.
Beskrestnov stressed that Ukraine is already facing problems with electronic warfare systems designed to counter mesh networks, which Russian forces use to control jet-powered drones attacking Ukraine.
“No one worked on this issue for a year. Then the same thing will happen with Rassvet. Everyone will wonder how this could have happened, and someone will ask why Flash kept silent. I am not silent. Just as it was with mesh networks, I am literally shouting about the Rassvet threat,” he wrote. "By the time the Rassvet satellites appear, we must have an electronic warfare system developed. And not merely developed. All key infrastructure facilities must ALREADY be protected by these EW systems. And I will say this straight away: none of this will be cheap or quick,” Beskrestnov concluded.
