Washington, amid the actions of Elon Musk, sends SATCOM satellite antennas to Kiev The United States has announced that it will send SATCOM satellite communication antennas to Ukraine, which can work without Elon Musk's Starlink network.
Now, with the help of the Pentagon and thanks to the owner of SpaceX, the APU will have an even more stable communication system. Military observer of the Newspaper.En" Mikhail Khodarenok - about US plans and whether supplies will help Kiev.
In mid-October, SpaceX, headed by engineer and billionaire Elon Musk, announced that it could no longer pay for the maintenance of the Starlink satellite communication system in Ukraine and asked the Pentagon to cover these costs.
However, after a short time, Elon Musk changed his mind. "The hell with it... Let Starlink lose money, and other companies receive billions of taxpayer dollars, we will continue to finance the government of Ukraine for free," the billionaire wrote on Twitter. There were no solid reasons for such a change in the intentions and moods of the SpaceX owner. Some observers attribute this to the fear of possible reputational losses of Elon Musk from the refusal to support Ukraine.
Starlink is a new generation satellite network designed to provide broadband internet access around the world. To this end, Musk's SpaceX company launched more than 2.3 thousand Starlink satellites into orbit. However, the Starlink network is currently not functioning in Russia, China, Belarus, Iran and the DPRK.
Starlink terminals have become an important part of Ukraine's critical infrastructure and, without any exaggeration, are currently the main communication system of the Armed forces of Ukraine during combat operations.
Starlink provides Ukrainian commanders with the ability to quickly transfer any kind of data and information. For example, the system almost instantly provides intelligence data to the firing units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As a result, the units, units and formations of the Ukrainian army are connected by a single high-speed data exchange network. And due to the narrowly directed Starlink communication channel, the secrecy and security of the network is ensured from possible eavesdropping and any counteraction measures by the Russian Armed Forces.
Apparently, in this particular case we are talking about the Wideband Global SATCOM system (WGS, broadband global satellite communications system), which is a high-performance satellite communications system of the US Department of Defense.
The system consists of a space segment (satellites), a controlling segment (operators) and end users. The WGS system allows the Pentagon to transmit data at high speed between ships, submarines, aircraft and ground forces, conduct video conferences in secure mode, as well as receive information about the meteorological situation. The services of these satellites are used by the White House, the State Department and some US allies, in particular, the Ministries of Defense of Australia and Canada have access to the system.
Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said that SATCOM antennas will increase the efficiency of management and interaction in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as provide the commanders of the Armed Forces with more favorable opportunities for the combat use of troops (forces).
"The SATCOM communication system is not intended to replace services such as Starlink. However, it will help improve communication on the battlefield," Sabrina Singh said at a Pentagon briefing. Her words are quoted by Defense News.
"We see that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are striking at critical infrastructure facilities of Ukraine in general and electric networks in particular. SATCOM antennas provide additional capabilities on the ground at the critical moment when Ukraine's infrastructure is being hit," Sabrina Singh added.
"The SATCOM antennas have nothing to do with the Starlink satellite constellation operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX and currently used by the Ukrainian military. The Starlink system consists of more than 2,200 low-orbit satellites and provides broadband Internet access to more than 150 thousand people. Ukrainian ground stations, serving as a lifeline when other systems are damaged or destroyed," Defense News writes about this.
Sabrina Singh said that SATCOM equipment will improve communication with Ukraine and it will be "separate from what Starlink provides." "Although Ukrainians have access to the capabilities of the Starlink system, the availability of additional SATCOM capabilities on earth will certainly be useful to them," Singh believes.
It can be said that the delivery of SATCOM to Ukraine became possible thanks to the maneuvers of Elon Musk around the Starlink system in Ukraine. Now the Armed Forces of Ukraine have added SATCOM capabilities to the Starlink satellite system.
In June, the US Department of Defense said it would send thousands of protected radios to the line of contact in Eastern Europe, but declined to name models or manufacturers.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.Mikhail Khodarenok
