British media: Why is "Starlink" so important on the battlefield in Ukraine?

Reference News Network reported on October 17 According to a report from the BBC website on October 15, Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) operates the "Starlink" satellite, which provides high-speed internet access services, and modern warfare heavily relies on such networks.

Kyiv has used the "Starlink" network (its military version is called "Starshield") as a core tool for battlefield communication and has also employed it for drone operations. With "Starlink," Ukrainian drones can maintain a more stable connection with operators over longer distances than conventional wireless networks, and they are less susceptible to interference.

However, according to Ukrainian presidential technology advisor Serhiy Besskrestnov, "Starlink" suddenly imposed speed limits on connected drones, causing some battlefield missions to be interrupted.

Besskrestnov stated that SpaceX set a speed limit of 100 miles per hour (approximately 160 kilometers) on the night of the 13th, and officials were completely unaware of this.

The U.S. Institute for the Study of War believes that setting this relatively low speed limit on drones accessing the network has rendered Ukraine's efforts to intercept Russian jet drones nearly futile.

George Barros from the institute said, "'Starlink' is the backbone of Ukrainian military communications." The Navy, Army, and Air Force in Kyiv are all using it.

Barros stated that this technology allows "drones, artillery, and command posts to form a unified real-time network, minimizing the time from sensor detection of a target to the shooter executing a strike," so the related restrictions could have significant impacts.

"Starlink" cannot be used within Russian territory, but Ukrainian drones can rely on these satellites to transmit communication signals back to operators when launching strikes. Currently, there is no readily available alternative network that can fulfill this function.

He said that intercepting drones relying on the "Starlink" network is also one of Ukraine's most effective means of countering the Russian "Witness" drones powered by jet engines.

The "Witness" drones fly at speeds exceeding 198 miles per hour, and the speed limit imposed by SpaceX has nearly made it impossible for Ukraine to pursue and intercept them.

Tom Whiting, an electronic warfare expert at the Royal United Services Institute, stated that this satellite system allows Ukraine to transmit large amounts of data, including video, text, and voice calls; the transmission mechanism is similar to that of smartphones but does not rely on the ground infrastructure that smartphones depend on.

Whiting said that this restriction "effectively prevents the mobility of all connected devices from exceeding 100 miles per hour," increasing the difficulty for drones to navigate within Ukraine and in Russian-controlled areas.

Ukraine's complaints about the speed limit have drawn public attention to both "Starlink" and "Starshield." The latter is the military-grade network version developed by SpaceX for the Pentagon.

Musk stated that the two systems are independent of each other, but in many cases, they share the same underlying satellite technology. Musk hinted in a post on the X platform that the U.S. government might be the behind-the-scenes driver of the speed limit imposed on Ukraine.

He wrote, "'Starshield' is owned and controlled by the U.S. government. Any speed or usage restrictions are determined by the U.S. military and ultimately finalized by the U.S. president. 'Starlink' is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX. The use of 'Starlink' is limited to civilian or defensive activities and must not be used for offensive military operations." (Translated by Zhu Li)