April 1, 2026:
A Starlink receiver and antenna on a drone allow it to be guided precisely to its target, if it's not shot down, remaining in contact until the last split second.
Russian forces in Ukraine realized that if they didn’t find a solution to this satellite constellation problem quickly, there would be higher losses from more accurate Starlink assisted Ukrainian drones.
The latest Starlink modification, in addition to the communication channel, provides alternative navigation, which, unlike GPS, has very high interference immunity.
It also has an extremely narrow communication beam, which is difficult to detect and virtually impossible to jam with conventional electronic warfare systems.
Moreover, the cost of such a terminal is miniscule compared to that of a four ton Reaper surveillance drone. The Americans can integrate it into many of their weapon’s systems, including Tomahawks, JASSMs, and the new Precision Strike Missile, which has a range of 150 kilometers and is launched from a HIMARs vehicle.
This is a revolutionary evolution in military affairs that has had an extraordinary impact on the Ukraine War. SpaceX, the firm that created and controls the Starlink satellite network, can block Russian access to their black market Starlink systems and diminish the effectiveness of Russian forces.
The Russians aren’t the only ones having misadventures with Starlink equipment. Last year Starlink was suspected of involvement in the outcome of a Red Sea conflict. Yemen’s Shia Houthi rebels had been devastated by weeks of intense Israeli and American airstrikes. These attacks continued with increasing accuracy. The Houthis couldn’t do anything about satellite or aerial surveillance, so they decided to go after nearby suspects. That meant searching for and seizing Starlink terminals owned by Yemeni families and businesses. Starlink is a simple, inexpensive system to connect anyone with thousands of Starlink communications in orbit above the earth. This gives the user access to all the electronic media in the world. Much of it is free or easily stolen. Starlink's widespread use in Yemen led the Houthis to believe it was the key means of disloyal locals to let the enemy know where Houthis weapons and other assets were.
Starlink played a small role in finding and identifying targets for airstrikes. All its satellites carry optical sensors which software, using multiple Starlink satellites, converts into VLA/Very Large Array cameras capable of picking out amazingly small details on the Earth. This is invaluable for military targeting. Seizing all the local Starlink terminals just made the locals angrier at the Houthi response and more willing to use their cellphones or other communications devices to let the outside world know where Houthi targets were.
The Houthis are a radical clan militia from the Shia minority in northern Yemen. For over a decade the Houthis had been disrupting life and the economy in Yemen. Houthi control in Yemen is diminishing because of the recent air strikes.