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New Delhi: Two intelligence services of NATO countries suspect that Russia is developing an anti-satellite weapon to target Elon Musk’s Starlink. According to them the country wants to target the constellation with destructive clouds of shrapnel. The country is targeting them as Western superiority in the space sector has helped Ukraine in the war against Russia.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that intelligence findings say that Russia plans to use hundreds of thousands of high-density pellets to target Starlink's orbit. This would not only disable the satellite, but also pose a grave danger to other orbiting systems in space.
Analysts say that they fear that such a system could cause uncontrollable damage in space and affect the assets in space and would impact several countries and companies. They fear that if Russia is indeed planning something of this sort, it might lead to uncontrollable chaos in space. Not only will other countries be impacted, but Russia and its closest ally China will also face the heat, as like many other countries, they also use thousands of orbiting satellites for communications, defence, and other vital needs.
According to analysts, this risk to Russia's own space system, could be a major deterrent for the country, which might prevent it from using the weapon targeting the Starlink. Experts also said that this theory is too far-fetched to believe. They said that if Russia is indeed planning to target the satellite, then this would be very surprising.
According to a report in The Hindu, which quoted the intelligence report, Russia views Starlink as a grave threat. They said that several low-orbiting satellites have been important for Ukraine and have helped it survive against Russia in the almost 4-year-long war.
The Ukrainian Army uses Stalink's high-speed internet in the battlefield for communications, weapons targeting and other roles. Even Ukrainian civilians and government officials use it in places where there has been a communication breakdown due to Russian attacks.
Earlier also, Russia has repeatedly warned that any commercial satellites aiding Ukraine during the war, would be on their hit-list.
However nothing of this sort is yet confirmed. The AP report also added that it was unclear when exactly would Russia be capable of deploying such a system, nor detail whether it has been tested or how far along research is believed to be. They quoted an official as saying that active development and information about the timing of an expected deployment is too sensitive to share.
