Russia’s Sestroretsk weapons plant is developing a mobile system that can detect and locate Starlink Internet terminals, the Reverse Side of the Medal Telegram channel revealed on December 13.
The new system, called “Borshchevik”, is said to be able to detect Starlink terminals with a range of 10 kilometers and locate them with an accuracy of up to 60 meters. The system can be mounted on various types of vehicles, which makes it suitable for operations near the hot front lines.
The system will soon be tested in real combat conditions on the front line in Russia’s special military operation zone in Ukraine.
The Starlink internet satellite constellation, operated by US-based SpaceX, was activated over Ukraine just days after Russia launched a special military operation there on February 24 in support of Kiev. The system quickly became the main Internet provider for the Kiev government and its forces.
As of mid-August, Ukraine’s internet service provided more than 20,000 Starlink terminals, some from Western governments and volunteers, in addition to many provided directly by SpaceX.
The Russian military is hunting Starlink terminals on the ground with direct fire and working to disrupt the system with electronic warfare means with great success. On September 30, Kyiv reported major Starlink outages across the frontline, resulting in “catastrophic” communication losses.
The new Borshchevik system will further enhance the Russian military’s ability to detect and locate Starlink terminals along the front line, thereby denying Kiev’s forces the ability to properly communicate in critical areas.
