For the first time, AFU downed Shahed on which russians installed Starlink - Defense Express
Ukrainian fighters shot down the Shahed-136 of the aggressor country of russia during an attack on the night of September 25. Starlink satellite communication from SpaceX was installed on the drone.
This was reported by Defense Express.
The publication writes that the installation of Starlink can significantly expand the capabilities of the Shahed. In particular, it will be able to transmit information and change tasks at a distance of up to 2,000 km. Defense Express showed a photo of the downed drone with a satellite dish and remnants of serial numbers, which should help identify the supply channels of the satellite communications terminal.
"Starlink may be needed by the enemy in order to transmit intelligence information, for example, collected by radio technical means about the positions of Ukrainian air defense. Or, in the case of equipping the drone with cameras - images. And thanks to Starlink, the russian federation can use Shahed as an extremely long-range barrage munition with the possibility reconnaissance, at the expense of an additional camera, and destruction of even moving targets," the material says.
In this way, Shahed also turns into an intelligence tool.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, representatives of Ukrainian intelligence said that russian troops are increasingly using Starlink satellite communication systems.
The US is investigating the alleged use of Elon Musk's Starlink by the russian military.
In addition, the US Department of Defense said that the russians unsuccessfully tried to silence the work of Starlink in Ukraine.