Ukrainian arms manufacturer Fire Point claims to have overcome Starlink restrictions for long-range strikes – Reuters
Iryna Terekh, CEO of Ukrainian missile and drone manufacturer Fire Point, says the company has found a way of delivering long-range strikes in Russia and Russian-occupied territories without relying on Starlink satellite communications.
Source: Terekh in an interview with Reuters
Details: Terekh said the company has found workarounds that allow it to conduct strikes without using satellite communications.
Quote: "We have built with this in mind. Fire Point systems are designed to finish a mission without a satellite link. Navigation that works without any external signal is a priority."
Details: Terekh declined to disclose details of the solutions.
Quote: "We found a way to technologically overcome this challenge, but this only covers probably 15 to 20% of what we could do if the Starlink was working (over Russia)."
Background:
- On 19 October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Starlink and Starshield equipment had stopped working at speeds of 130-161 km/h in various sectors of the front line, disrupting logistics and limiting Ukraine's use of drones.
- On 21 October, after news of the slowdown became public, SpaceX owner Elon Musk tweeted: "Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS."
- According to The Wall Street Journal, Musk ordered the slowdown for the military version of Starlink for Ukraine, which made some Ukrainian strike drones and interceptor drones practically unusable.
- On 22 October, the WSJ reported that US President Donald Trump had allegedly called Elon Musk and asked him to lift the restrictions on Starshield in Ukraine.
- On 24 October, Musk commented on the Starlink restrictions, claiming that the Ukrainian military had violated the terms of use for this type of communications system. He also said that if Starlink were switched off, "the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately".
- Zelenskyy said he believes that the publicity surrounding the connection restrictions helped to restore the Starlink system's operation to the required speed.
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