In the early stages of the invasion of Ukraine, the defenders had a real advantage. They began using Starlink to gain Internet access via Elon Musk’s constellation of satellites. This allowed the military to coordinate and communicate securely across the country despite loss of cell phone infrastructure and problematic power grid issues. This also allowed them to make wide use of drones, for reconnaissance and for attacks. (Concerned about getting too involved in the war, Musk took steps to limit Ukraine’s access.)
In contrast, Russian forces struggled with poor communications that exacerbated their problems in controlling troop movements and all the other things that Command and Control depend on. That’s changing. This video shows how Starlink works, and how Russia is now catching up.
The above video report is from February, 2024. The Wall Street Journal has an April 9, 2024 report on:
The Black Market That Delivers Elon Musk’s Starlink to U.S. Foes
Thomas Grove, Nicholas Bariyo, Micah Maidenburg, Emma Scott, and Ian Lovett have put together a disturbing picture:
...On battlefields from Ukraine to Sudan, Starlink provides immediate and largely secure access to the internet. Besides solving the age-old problem of effective communications between troops and their commanders, Starlink provides a way to control drones and other advanced technologies that have become a critical part of modern warfare.
The proliferation of the easy-to-activate hardware has thrust SpaceX into the messy geopolitics of war. The company has the ability to limit Starlink access by “geofencing,” making the service unavailable in specific countries and locations, as well as through the power to deactivate individual devices...
...The Journal investigation found that a shadowy supply chain exists for Starlink hardware that has fed backroom deals in Africa, Southeast Asia and the United Arab Emirates, putting thousands of the white pizza-box-sized devices into the hands of some American adversaries and accused war criminals. Many of those end users connect to the satellites using Starlink’s roam feature after the dealers register the hardware in countries where Starlink is allowed.
In Russia, middlemen buy the hardware, sometimes on eBay, in the U.S. and elsewhere, including on the black market in Central Asia, Dubai or Southeast Asia, then smuggle it into Russia. Russian volunteers boast openly on social media about supplying the terminals to troops. They are part of an informal effort to boost Russia’s use of Starlink in Ukraine, where Russian forces are advancing.
Also...
...The Kremlin didn’t respond to a request for comment.
...Neither SpaceX nor Musk responded to requests for comment.
The short version is that the black market is getting the hardware needed to access the Starlink satellites to people who are in places where it’s not authorized and who are using it for bad ends. SpaceX has apparently been unable to get a handle on the problem so far.
This is not good. From the video and the article, it appears that Starlink is unable to effectively police who is using its service. (This is not the Open Access model we wanted.) This is why it’s all that more important to give Ukraine the aid it needs to continue defending against Russian aggression. It’s also important to come up with a way to deal with others using the technology to bad ends.
MAXIM 24. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a big gun. [22]
MAXIM 50. If it only works in exactly the way the manufacturer intended, it is defective.[24]