Russia is developing its own analogue of Starlink and is already testing the first “Rassvet” satellites. According to Serhiy Flesh Beskrestnov, there is no full-scale military threat at the moment, but Ukraine is closely monitoring this project.
Russia is working on its own analogue of Starlink – the “Buro 1440” project / © Serhiy Beskrestnov “Flesh”
Russia is working on its own analogue of Starlink – the “Buro 1440” project, which involves launching “Rassvet” satellites for high-speed data transmission in low Earth orbit. Currently, the first 16 such satellites are already in orbit, but for the system to operate stably, the Russians need to launch at least 200-250 spacecraft.
This was reported by the advisor to the Minister of Defense, Serhiy “Flesh” Beskrestnov.
According to him, Russia fully understands the importance of satellite internet for warfare and could not ignore this area. At the same time, the key issue is not the fact of development itself, but the timeframe within which such a system can become fully operational.
“The enemy needs a ‘Russian StarLink’. Undoubtedly, Russia understands the importance of a high-speed data transmission system via low Earth orbit satellites, and it would be foolish to think that they are not pursuing this direction. The only question is the timing,” noted Flesh.
Russian satellite “Rassvet”. / © Serhiy Beskrestnov “Flesh”
He explained that the “Rassvet” satellites are currently operating in test mode. For continuous and stable communication, Russia needs to launch a significantly larger number of spacecraft into orbit. The project plans include launching initially 300 and then another 700 satellites, but the actual timelines may vary.
Flesh emphasized that theoretically, the existing satellites could already be used against Ukraine for military purposes. In particular, they are capable of providing data transmission for 6-10 minutes during their passage over Ukrainian territory. Such flyovers, according to him, occur approximately once a day.
At the same time, the advisor to the Minister of Defense considers the full military application of the system at this stage unlikely.
“Theoretically, the enemy could already install satellite internet terminals on ‘Shaheds’ and plan an attack during the satellites’ flyover, but I believe this is too complex from an organizational standpoint,” he explained.
According to Flesh, as long as there are not enough satellites in orbit for stable communication, it is too early to talk about widespread military use of the system.
He also noted that if the “Rassvet” satellites begin military application, Ukraine will be able to detect it – through satellite traffic, intelligence data, or captured equipment.
Separately, Flesh commented on possible countermeasures. According to him, Russia, over the years of full-scale war, has not been able to effectively counter Starlink, so countering a large number of satellites will be difficult for Ukraine as well. However, he added that certain ideas regarding this already exist, but it is too early to test them, as the “Rassvet” system is not yet fully operational.
“The 16 satellites currently in orbit are operating in test mode,” Flesh concluded.
Earlier, Deputy Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Pavlo Yelyzarov, stated that the Russian invaders are significantly increasing the number of “Shahed” type attack drones launched at Ukraine.
According to him, the number of simultaneously launched drones is constantly growing, which complicates the work of Ukrainian air defense.
It was also reported that the Russians have begun using new modifications of “Geran” attack drones against Ukrainian interceptor drones.
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