Russia spurs construction of its own Starlink... Threat of drone attack from behind Ukraine

Russia is accelerating the development of its own satellite Internet 'Rassvet' (Dawn) to compete with Starlink.

There are concerns that once the construction of Lasbet is completed, Russia's offensive power will strengthen and cause a blow to Ukraine.

The British daily Financial Times (FT) reported on the 8th (local time), citing expert analysis, that Lasbet could begin full operation as early as next year.

LasBet is a secure communication system that combines a low-orbit satellite network, a ground station, and a communication terminal.

It initially started as a private project to provide internet services to remote areas of Russia, but it is actually being developed for military purposes as the United States blocked Starlink access after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

Starlink has played a critical role in enabling Ukrainian drones to bypass jamming systems and strike deep into Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory by passive flight, and experts believe Lasvet could play the same role.

In particular, it is believed that it will help increase the Russian military's offensive power by exchanging data in real time even at long distances to control drones and track and strike moving targets.

For this reason, the Ukrainian military is concerned that once the construction of Lasvet is completed, it may be exposed to targets of Russian drones deep in Ukraine's rear.

“The biggest threat from Lasvet is not simply that it provides Russia with an alternative to Starlink, but that it can turn relatively inexpensive attack drones into weapons that can strike moving targets deep within Ukrainian territory,” said Oleksandr Danilyuk, director of the Ukrainian Defense Reform Center.

He expressed concern, “As Russia’s drone production is rapidly expanding, Russia’s attack efficiency could increase if it is equipped with a Lasvette system.”

It is pointed out that the construction of Lasbet could also pose a threat to European security.

This is because using this system, drones can be operated anywhere within the communication network service range.

“It could be abused for terrorism and sabotage,” said Rob Lee, a military expert at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), a think tank.

Experts estimate that Lasbet can currently connect for up to 3 hours a day, of which continuous communication is possible for about 50 minutes.

Ukraine believes that Russia is already testing Lasvet on the battlefield.

Although it does not yet have sufficient capabilities to perform the mission required on the actual battlefield, it is understood that the Lasvet was used for several hours in the Ukrainian camp until the end of July.

Serhiy Beskrestnov, a technical advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the reason Russia is not using Lasbet in earnest is because communication time is still limited.

Russia has set a goal of deploying more than 250 satellites at an altitude of 800 km by 2027, but only 32 mass-produced satellites have been launched so far, and two of them were lost.

The construction schedule is being delayed more than originally expected.

The deployment altitude is also around 510km.

However, lowering the altitude may have been an intentional choice as placing the satellite in an orbit closer to the Earth allows communication with small ground terminals, which is advantageous for military use.

Some point out that it will be difficult to neutralize or block the satellite network once the construction of LasBet is completed.

This is because it is difficult to simply block signals over Ukraine, jamming radio waves is expensive, and the range of application is limited.