In brief
Ukraine’s forces rely on Elon Musk’s Starlink for real‑time battlefield data, yet last week’s temporary outage highlighted the nation’s exposure to a single‑point failure. European partners are developing a backup: Govsatcom, a shared satellite pool, and the ambitious Iris² programme, set to launch in 2029. Eutelsat’s OneWeb offers a partial alternative, but its smaller constellation and higher cost leave gaps. Experts stress that satellite resilience will be crucial as Russia continues to target undersea cables and ground‑based networks, making space‑based links a cornerstone of modern defence.
Why Ukraine’s troops count on Starlink
Starlink’s low‑earth‑orbit satellites give Ukraine instant, high‑speed links between front‑line units and command centres. The ability to transmit drone “Go‑Live” footage in fractions of a second can mean the difference between a successful strike and a missed target.
When a mysterious slowdown hit Kyiv last week, the chaos that followed underscored how dangerously reliant Ukraine is on a single commercial provider. Nine areas of the country experienced broken links, and troops reported that orders could not be transmitted in real time.
Europe’s short‑term safety net
The European Union’s temporary solution is Govsatcom – a shared network that draws on dozens of existing satellites from Member States. Ukraine is in talks to join, but the system is currently only suited to non‑combat communication and cannot support military‑grade operations such as drone control.
China is also cataloguing out‑of‑the‑box alternatives. In February, French satellite operator Eutelsat said OneWeb’s 600‑satellite constellation could supplement Ukraine’s needs. However, the cheaper terminals and five‑fold higher cost mean they still lag behind Starlink’s performance.
Iris²: The EU’s long‑term answer
The EU’s flagship project is Iris², a defence‑first network of 348 satellites that will launch by 2029. A joint venture of Eutelsat, SES and Hispasat, the system intends to offer rapid‑response, military‑grade connectivity that does not depend on a single private company.
Admittedly, the constellation is smaller than Starlink, but insiders say the coverage design will still offer broad reach across the continent. Until then, Ukraine will rely on a layered approach – keep Starlink for critical data, Govsatcom for backup communications, and explore partnerships with companies such as Nokia and ICEYE for future satellite defence applications.
Space: the new defence frontier
While the majority of global communications flow through vulnerable under‑sea cables, a sudden cut could cripple a nation’s connectivity. Satellite centres, by contrast, dwell in space, where they can only be taken down by a concerted effort to destroy thousands of orbiting assets.
“If the cables are cut, the historical standard has been to fall back on satellite links,” said Kari Bingen, a CSIS aerospace security director. “That is why schoolchildren in Kyiv have been lobbying for their own satellite network for months.”
Ultimately, the lesson for Europe is clear: a single provider, no matter how advanced, is not a defensible backbone in wartime. Building indigenous and diversified satellite capabilities will be an essential part of modern national security strategy.
