secret weapon How Russia jammed Starlink into Ukraine

The Russians learned to block Elon Musk’s system, but the Ukrainian military decided how to deal with it.

In recent months, Russia has blocked the Ukrainian military’s access to the Internet. The Russians found an “elegant” method to disrupt the operation of satellite communications via Starlink. This was reported by The Washington Post, citing secret Pentagon documents previously leaked on social networks.

As it turns out, Moscow has been experimenting with its Tobol electronic warfare system since the fall. Confidential US materials have confirmed intelligence predictions: this program can not only protect the Kremlin’s satellites, but also attack other systems.

How did this happen?

Starlink systems, developed by American billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX, provide access to broadband Internet anywhere in the world. The businessman gave them to the Ukrainian forces since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022. They are actively bought by our military volunteers. Starlink has proven valuable to the Ukrainian military because it is a small portable terminal. The Armed Forces of Ukraine use it to communicate on the battlefield and transmit intelligence.

Last spring, Musk spoke briefly about the Kremlin’s attempts to “jam and hack” Starlink, but in May the technology showed its resistance to such attempts. After that, apparently, Moscow began to look for new methods to block its work.

Note that SpaceX declined to comment on the new Starlink attacks. The Pentagon also did not respond to reporters’ questions about the situation.

Defense Department spokesman Major Charlie Dietz noted only that Starlink is an important layer in Ukraine’s communications network and added that the agency’s focus “remains focused on providing Ukrainians with the satellite capabilities they need them.”

In turn, the press secretary of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Konstantin Zhura, said that officials in Kyiv are aware of Russia’s efforts and “are taking steps to neutralize them.”

How Russian Tobol works

In the fall, Musk faced backlash from Ukraine after promoting a plan to end the war that heavily favored Russia. A few weeks later, an American businessman came under fire again when he threatened to cut funding for Starlink’s emergency service. The retreat again forced him to quickly change course.

But despite this, in October, when the Ukrainian military launched a counter-offensive in the south and east, they began to report disruptions in the work of Starlink. At the time, Ukrainian officials speculated that SpaceX restricted internet access in those areas to prevent Russians from using the service.

Now The Washington Post is reporting that the Starlink failures may be the result of Russia’s Tobol experiments.

American analysts have discovered at least seven Tobol complexes in Russia. All of them are located near objects used for tracking satellites. However, at least three of the facilities discussed in the US intelligence review are the closest to Ukraine and could be used to attack the communications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

One complex is located near Moscow, one is located near Crimea and the other is in Kaliningrad, writes WP. The alleged center where the Russians jammed Starlink was the Bakhmut area and the eastern part of the Donetsk region.

washingtonpost.com

According to the American Space Security Foundation, satellite interference can occur in two places: in space, when it is aimed directly at satellites, and on the ground, where it can be aimed at receivers. Interference from space, known as uplink jamming, mixes the signal with the original broadcast, distorting the information received by all users of this satellite. According to researcher Bart Hendrix, Tobol definitely works this way.

The terrestrial method, known as downlink jamming, transmits the signal on the same frequency as the satellite, preventing connected devices from receiving a legitimate signal. This method has less coverage because it depends on how close the silencer is to the systems it is intended to disturb.

The genius of the APU

Information that Russia is actively disrupting the work of Starlink was confirmed by the Ukrainian military. But they called for a different method for blocking the operation of this system.

“Starlink is not vulnerable to electronic warfare on satellite frequencies, but it turns out that there is GPS in it, which, unfortunately, is vulnerable to electronic warfare,” explained Sergey Beskrestnov, a well-known blogger Sergey Flesh.

De-roofing GPS in the middle of Starlink

According to him, when the GPS signal is suppressed, Starlink cannot register, and even after registration, it loses speed until the channel disappears completely. The reason for the failure of the system is not in the problems in determining the position of the terminal, but in the loss of synchronization coming from the GPS.

“If, to suppress the UAVs, the Russians buried the GPS electronic warfare in the lowlands so that we could not find it, now they are pulling it up high to suppress the Starlink. The pilots noticed it immediately: the drones even in GPS signals are not visible on the ground,” the military continued.

For example, in Bakhmut, the Russians installed GPS electronic warfare in residential skyscrapers, Beskrestnov notes. He also explained how these obstacles can be overcome.

One way is to protect the Starlink from the four sides with a metal mesh with holes less than 5-7 centimeters. But the easiest option, he says, is to lower Starlink below ground level by half a meter. At the same time, the hole must be wide enough for Starlink to see the satellites, the specialist added.

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