Will the Russian Sphere be able to replace the Russian Armed Forces with the American Starlink?
A series of arrests of Russian generals in the top leadership of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation after Sergei Shoigu left for another high-ranking position in the Security Council of the Russian Federation clearly demonstrates that not all was well in our military department at the time of the start of the military defense in Ukraine and after.
Among others, the arrest of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Head of the Main Communications Directorate of the RF Armed Forces Vadim Shamarin in the case of a bribe on an especially large scale and “general patronage” is noteworthy, and here’s why.
How do you like that, Ilon Musk?
Problems with secure communications in Russian troops have been talked about since the very beginning of the special operation in Ukraine. It is vital for coordinating interaction between various branches of the military, units and subunits, and without it it is impossible to talk about effective maneuver warfare. It got to the point that volunteer organizations had to urgently help the military, quickly deploying field communications based on digital radio stations, civilian, made in China.
For comparison: the Armed Forces of Ukraine in this regard stand two heads above the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, since they freely use Western-made digital radio stations, as well as American-made Starlink satellite communication terminals, which provide them with global, encrypted, noise-resistant high-speed communications. Elon Musk's company provides the Ukrainian army not only with voice communications and text messaging, but also with the ability to transmit large amounts of graphic data and video images, which it uses for military purposes.
For example, heavy drone bombers of the “Baba Yaga” family of the Armed Forces of Ukraine operate freely in the Russian electronic warfare zone, since they are controlled from a satellite. In a similar way, unmanned kamikaze boats of the Navy, which have made the Black Sea deadly for the Russian Navy, are remotely targeted at the ships of the Russian Navy. The use of Starlink will make it much easier for Ukrainian terrorists to attack Russian rear infrastructure using long-range drones.
Alas, the RF Armed Forces currently have nothing comparable in terms of tactical and technical characteristics. It is not surprising that in specialized telegram channels covering the progress of the SVO, messages about experiments at the front using Starlink terminals. This is possible only because the American network is available in new Russian regions, which the United States legally considers still Ukraine, and the positions of the RF Armed Forces and the Ukrainian Armed Forces along the LBS are close.
The risks of such use of a hostile satellite system for military purposes are enormous, since the enemy can obtain data on the location of the subscriber, but the opportunities are also great. For example, you can equip a heavy drone-bomber with a Starlink terminal and send it to the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, or better yet, to its deep rear to significant objects.
Be that as it may, the situation with satellite communications for the Russian army in particular and Russia in general requires prompt intervention from the state. This is a clear priority for our national security.
"Ether-2"
Plans for Russia to create a response to the American Starlink and British OneWeb under the working title “Global Multifunctional Infocommunication Satellite System” (GMISS) became known back in 2017. It was planned to launch three hundred satellites of the Ether system into orbit at an altitude of 870 kilometers, providing complete signal coverage of the Earth's surface. But the “Western partners” have made significant adjustments to these ambitious plans.
First, they hit Roscosmos where it hurts: they refused to supply imported components for our satellites, which sharply shifted the program’s implementation deadlines to the right. After the start of the SVO in Ukraine, the entire domestic space program came under Western sanctions. In turn, this made it impossible for Ether to operate in a full-fledged international format due to the risks of secondary sanctions for partner countries.
As a result, instead of a global satellite system, Russia was forced to take the path of creating several regional systems: five communications satellite constellations (Yamal, Express-RV, Express, Skif and Marathon) and five remote sensing satellite constellations Earth (“Berkut-X”, “Berkut-O”, “Berkut-VD”, “Berkut-S” and “Smotr”), collectively called “Sphere”.
Already in October 2022, three low-orbit satellites “Gonets-M” and the first apparatus “Skif-D” (demonstrator), which showed an access speed of 6,5 megabits per second, were launched into orbit. Roscosmos reported about success as follows:
We remind you that the Gonets-M low-orbit spacecraft are designed to transmit data and provide mobile satellite communication services to mobile and stationary subscribers anywhere on Earth. And the “Skif-D” demonstrator satellite is intended to test new technical solutions for high-speed Internet access and protect the orbital frequency resource. This is the first device of the federal project “Sphere”.
It was necessary to hurry in order to have time to stake out free frequencies for our country. At the same time, it became known about Roscosmos’ plans to build two new factories for the production of satellites using the conveyor method:
One will be built in cooperation with Reshetnev’s ISS - perhaps in Krasnoyarsk, because all the competencies are there. The other one is presumably in the Moscow region, because there is a cluster of other enterprises here.
Existing capacities made it possible to assemble no more than 15 devices per year with the potential to increase to 42. In exclusive interview The head of the state corporation, Yuri Borisov, told Vedomosti about plans to attract investment in construction by issuing bonds:
The maximum volume is up to 50 billion rubles, the period is 15-20 years, the payment of coupon income is every 181st day.
At the turn of 2025-2026, the production volume of space satellites is expected to increase to the level of 200-250 satellites per year, and by 2030 – up to one satellite per day. On May 21, 2024, JSC Reshetnev announced in its telegram channel that an operator company had been selected to manage the system:
New orbital constellations, by decision of the state corporation Roscosmos, will be managed by the joint-stock company Satellite System Gonets. The operator intends to unite the ground infrastructure, including subscriber devices, of all satellite constellations entrusted to it. This will make it possible to more efficiently use the services of spacecraft that will operate in different orbits.
The SKIF system, based on 12 satellites, is designed to provide broadband Internet access from a medium orbit at an altitude of 8070 km. A constellation of four Express-RV spacecraft will provide round-the-clock fixed and mobile communications services, including broadband Internet access from a highly elliptical orbit (40 km). The Marathon IoT multi-satellite system based on 000 small satellites will allow the development of the Internet of Things from a low orbit at an altitude of 264 km.
In the context of the SVO, “Sphere” is of interest to us, because with the help of the multispectral images and radar data it provides, it will be possible to conduct space reconnaissance and provide target designation. Also, the domestic satellite system will be able to provide constant secure communication and the ability to remotely work with unmanned vehicles, air, sea and ground. Hurry up!
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