SpaceX has begun taking countermeasures against Shahed-type attack UAVs that use Starlink technology, at the request of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
This was reported by Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, an adviser to the Minister of Defense.
According to him, many users of the Starlink satellite communications system in Ukraine are already observing the first countermeasures implemented by SpaceX at the request of the Ministry of Defense.
“I cannot publicly disclose everything that has already been done, is being done, or will be done, but all these actions are aimed at one goal: protecting the residents of our country (both military and civilians) and our infrastructure facilities from the threat posed by enemy attack UAVs,” Beskrestnov emphasized.
He noted that the current solutions are temporary (or emergency) and will later be replaced by a comprehensive, well-thought-out solution that will take time to develop.
In his view, the time has also long come to collect nationwide information on the use of SpaceX services within the armed forces.
“I won’t hide it — there have already been attempts to do this, but many soldiers using volunteer-provided Starlinks or their personal Starlink terminals did not want to share information with their command. They feared that a commander might take the device away, fail to issue a replacement, or something else. We will definitely come up with a way to gather this information across the army so that soldiers will trust us with it,” Beskrestnov stressed.
He also noted that SpaceX is directly involved in the process and is assisting specialists from the Ministry of Defense.
According to Beskrestnov, Russian forces used Shahed drones equipped with Starlink satellite internet terminals in the Kropyvnytskyi area, where strikes were carried out against helicopters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
