Russia has set an official goal of developing a large-scale, low-latency communications network, similar to the American Starlink satellite network widely used on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield.
The Starlink network has repeatedly proven its worth on the battlefield in Ukraine. It helps various units of the Ukrainian army communicate with each other almost instantaneously, since the signals they send are resistant to enemy interference and electronic warfare attacks. Starlink is so useful that even the Russians use it from time to time on the front line.
The rapid responsiveness of the American network is achieved thanks to the presence of thousands of microsatellites, which are located in low Earth orbit above our planet. Ukrainians use the fast internet connection to control and destroy drones, to communicate with other units, etc.
Undoubtedly, the huge amount of satellites is the number one secret of the success of the Starlink network. And this is something that Moscow knows, so it has already developed its own plans for launching thousands of microsatellites into space.
A Very Ambitious Plan from Moscow
The ambitious program to create a “Russian Starlink” has been undertaken by the private aerospace company Bureau 1130, which hopes that its network will be more advanced than its American counterpart.
The Russian company promises to use cutting-edge technology to achieve its goal and surpass billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink.
Bureau 1140 has already revealed how it will achieve this, at least in part. You see, in the American Starlink network, thousands of microsatellites communicate with each other using laser beams, while the satellites themselves communicate with the Starlink terminals located on the ground using radio frequencies (RF).
The Russian company plans to use laser beams for both communication between its satellites and between terminals on the ground and the satellites. This is expected to give the Russian network a significant advantage.
The communication range of the Moscow network is expected to reach 5,000 kilometers, while the network itself will consist of 2,600 satellites (which will be launched within the next decade). For comparison, the American Starlink has about 8,000 satellites today while its ultimate goal is 42,000 satellites.
