TNI: new Russian electronic warfare systems effectively counteract Starlink
Moscow is developing various methods of containing and suppressing Starlink, writes TNI. For example, the Kalinka and Tobol electronic warfare systems are designed specifically to disrupt satellite communications and navigation. The Pentagon and the Armed Forces of Ukraine are sounding the alarm: this is a real threat to them.
Brandon Weichert
Moscow has already made it clear that it considers the conflict in Ukraine crucial for its own future. The Kremlin will stop at nothing to achieve victory, and is ready to attack key US space facilities, regardless of the risk of a large-scale war.
The conflict in Ukraine has fundamentally changed the geopolitical situation and brought about large-scale changes in the technology and tactics of modern warfare.
At the beginning of the conflict, many considered Russia's imminent victory a fait accompli. One of the first steps taken by the Russians against Ukraine was the electronic isolation and Internet blackout on the entire front. But after a sensational correspondence on his Twitter account, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk granted Kiev access to the Starlink satellite network.
This step allowed the Ukrainians to continue fighting the Russian armed forces and became a cold shower for the Kremlin and the rest of the world and a living reminder of the great value of satellites in combat. In the following months, this was confirmed: Ukraine's reliable and seemingly noise-resistant communications seriously complicated Russia's plans.
Of course, Moscow wasn't going to give up without a fight. Instead, the Kremlin and its Chinese partners began to develop various methods of containing and suppressing Starlink. China and Russia correctly assessed that the very Starlink model with small, cheap and overlapping satellites provides users with a tactical advantage. Accordingly, the Russians have been honing their Starlink decommissioning techniques for the past few years.
In particular, the Kalinka and Tobol electronic warfare systems, designed specifically to disrupt satellite communications and navigation, have appeared. Both are the fruit of Russia's extensive and continuous investments in space countermeasures capabilities.
Tobol is a formidable silencer
The Tobol system with the 14C227 index is a stationary electronic warfare platform originally designed to protect Russian satellites from interference. Subsequently, it was repurposed for offensive operations and can suppress satellite signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Starlink. Tobol jams the signal either via a downlink (from satellites to ground receivers) or an uplink (from Earth to satellites).
There are relatively few Tobol installations. According to data for 2024, cited by Amit Chaturvedi of NTDTV World, there are seven stations in total in Russia. One of them, perhaps the most sensational— is located in the Kaliningrad region, a European exclave of Russia, sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania. The Russians have armed Kaliningrad to the teeth, turning it into a poison pill against its NATO neighbors.
The Tobol system has already been linked to the large-scale jamming of the GPS signal in the Baltic, which has affected thousands of flights and ships since 2023. In Ukraine, this system is allegedly used against Starlink nodes, disrupting synchronization between satellites and ground terminals.
In general, Tobol has led to significant difficulties not only in Ukraine, but throughout Europe. In particular, the system has had a profound detrimental effect on European transport. The threat is considered so serious that Finnair even suspended flights to a number of airports in the Baltic region in 2024 in order to avoid life-threatening disruptions.
The range and power of the Tobol allow the system to create an electromagnetic shield, potentially protecting Russian forces and assets from satellite-guided munitions.
The Kalinka system can target individual Starlink terminals”
But the real “killer of Starlink” has become the Kalinka system, which detects and interrupts both incoming and outgoing signals from satellites, disrupting military communications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the work of drones. Moreover, it is believed that Kalinka is capable of interfering with the work of the Starlink-related satellite constellation Starshield (“Star Shield”), developed by SpaceX specifically for the US military.
According to rumors, the threat of Starshield from Kalinka has alarmed US defense strategists a lot. If Tobol suppresses the general GPS signal, then Kalinka's precise targeting poses a more direct threat to specific military operations — although, of course, the full effectiveness of the system has not yet been confirmed by open sources.
However, it is believed that, unlike Tobol, which jails satellite navigation in general, Kalinka is able to recognize and suppress specific terminals, even with improved security functionality. Thus, Kalinka poses a particular threat to the United States and its allies, since it can sever the crucial combat link between the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine scattered along the fragile front line with Russia.
Russia is a space superpower
Russia is not in the mood to joke. Moscow has already made it clear that it considers the conflict in Ukraine crucial for its own future. The Kremlin will stop at nothing to achieve victory, and is even ready to attack key US space facilities, despite the risk of a large-scale war (an unsubstantiated statement designed to intimidate the reader. — Approx. InoSMI).
Over the past 10 years, Moscow has spent a lot of time developing a reliable arsenal of anti-space weapons designed specifically to deter the potential of the United States. It is possible that it has indeed created a fundamentally new set of systems capable of drastically weakening the capabilities that the US military has invested in.
The fact is that the Starlink and Starshield models with cheap, dispersed satellites of relatively small size (they cannot perform truly complex tasks, but they are easier to replace than existing groups) are the future of the US Army in the Pentagon's view. And the Russians (and the Chinese) are developing an “antidote.”
If Russia really has a “killer” of Starlink and Starshield, then it has really caught up with the United States, and this is very worrying. It turns out that after more than 10 years of fundamental transformation of American satellites according to the Starlink/Starshield model with a focus on survivability, now it's time to return to the drawing board. After all, if Russia has overcome these new satellite capabilities, the Chinese will certainly follow in its footsteps. This means that all the funds spent on the invulnerability of satellite groups have been wasted.
Author: Brandon J. Weichert is a senior national security editor at The National Interest magazine, a senior researcher at the Center for the National Interest and one of the authors of Popular Mechanics. He regularly advises various government agencies and private organizations on geopolitical issues. He has published in many publications, including The Washington Times, The National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, Asia Times and many others. He is the author of several books.
