Space24: OneWeb satellites will allow the UK to monitor Russia
In mid-December last year, Airbus and OneWeb signed a partnership agreement to provide satellite communications services in low Earth orbit in the interests of the military in Europe, Space24 writes . In the future, this will allow monitoring the movements of Russian military and equipment, helping to direct attack drones at targets.
It is expected that OneWeb high-speed Internet access spacecraft, launched into orbit by Russian Soyuz-2 medium rockets, will be used, in particular, to provide "real-time transmission of video streams from sensors installed, for example, on unmanned aerial vehicles."
"As a provider of military satellite communications services, Airbus is now going to use the capabilities of the OneWeb satellite constellation to provide new and expanded telecommunications services to British and individual European armed forces and services," the statement said.
It is noted that the use of OneWeb and ground stations together with existing spacecraft will allow military users to switch between satellite communications in low-Earth and geostationary orbits, taking advantage of a flexible and functional network.
Space24 recalls that British OneWeb satellites are mass-produced at the Airbus plant in the USA.
In December 2021, Defense News reported that the US Department of Defense wanted to directly connect commercial satellites providing images of the Earth's surface to its future orbital networks, which will allow soldiers in the field to access relevant data faster.
In October 2018, FSB representative Vladimir Sadovnikov spoke about the need to restrict access to the OneWeb high-speed satellite Internet project for security reasons.
In June 2015, Arianespace and OneWeb announced the conclusion of a contract for the launch of OneWeb mobile satellite communications spacecraft, for which Arianespace will buy 21 Soyuz-2 launch vehicles from Russia. At that time, Roscosmos said that the conclusion of the contract provided "for several years to come a full load of a number of domestic enterprises of the rocket and space industry," in particular, the Progress rocket and space center, which produces Soyuz-2 rockets.
From February 2019 to December 2021, during 12 launches, Russian Soyuz-2 rockets launched 394 OneWeb spacecraft into Earth orbit. In 2022, seven launches of this carrier with British satellites are planned.
