The Pentagon is coordinating with SpaceX to identify and disable Starlink satellite internet terminals that have been illegally acquired by Russian forces for use in its invasion of Ukraine. That’s what a senior Pentagon official told Congress this week.
During a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) pressed John Hill, the Pentagon’s deputy chief of space policy, on whether SpaceX has been cooperating to ensure Russian troops do not operate Starlink terminals obtained from black markets in violation of U.S. sanctions.
Hill said SpaceX has been “more than cooperative” and “forward leaning” in working to identify terminals in Russian hands and turn them off. “Not only has SpaceX been very cooperative with the entire United States government and the government of Ukraine, they’ve been forward leaning in identifying and providing information to us,” Hill told lawmakers, SpaceNews reported.
Warren said it has been “concerning” that Ukrainian forces have reported Russia obtaining and using SpaceX satellite internet terminals in occupied areas of Ukraine, despite U.S. sanctions aimed at crippling Russia’s military capabilities. SpaceX owner Elon Musk denied selling terminals to Russia, but lawmakers want to know its policies for complying with sanctions.
Warren asked Hill whether the Defense Department can identify all illicit Russian use of Starlink and completely shut down that capability. While the U.S. government and SpaceX have had some success working together to cut off identified terminals being used by Russian forces, Hill acknowledged it’s an endless cat-and-mouse game because Russia keeps acquiring more terminals through black market channels as quickly as existing ones are turned off. “I think we can continue to identify them or turn them off but I think Russia will not stop” trying to obtain more terminals illicitly, Hill said.
The discussion highlighted the U.S.’s role in Starlink’s satellite internet, which can connect from anywhere on the battlefield. It has been crucial for Ukraine’s command-and-control and intelligence sharing, lawmakers said, according to SpaceNews.
“Russia’s outdated communications have been a major contributor to their failures in Ukraine,” Warren said. “Starlink obviously would be enormously valuable to the Russians. It would provide Russia with secure communications that they sorely need, which would significantly erode Ukraine’s advantage on the battlefield.”
Hill said a lot of the information about Russia’s use of Starlink has been shared by SpaceX via U.S. SpaceCommand’s “commercial Integration cell,” a group of commercial satellite companies that work with the U.S. government. “We share information, including company proprietary information and classified information,” said Hill. “As we share information, we can develop strategies to identify all the terminals which should be left on or which ones should be turned off.”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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