China's Military Simulations Show Potential Threats to Starlink
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A group of researchers in China has conducted military simulations demonstrating potential strategies to disrupt SpaceX's Starlink communications, particularly in the context of a conflict over Taiwan.
The study, published in China's peer-reviewed journal 'Systems Engineering and Electronics', reveals a proposed method to jam Starlink's signals across a vast area, simulating the deployment of nearly 1,000 airborne jammers.
According to the report by the South China Morning Post, the researchers from Zhejiang University and the Beijing Institute of Technology suggest using drones, balloons, or aircraft to create a massive airborne barrier that could effectively jam the signals of Starlink's constellation of around 10,000 satellites.
Starlink, known for its resilience in communication, especially highlighted during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, operates with satellites in low Earth orbit that are constantly moving, making them challenging to jam from the ground.
The study points out that traditional ground-based jamming attempts would likely be ineffective. Instead, the researchers simulated a grid of jammers flying at altitudes of about 12 miles and spaced 3 to 5 miles apart, emitting noise at various power levels.
They tested two types of antennas: a wide-beam antenna covering more area and a narrow-beam antenna providing more precision. The ideal configuration for jamming Starlink signals, according to the study, involves a narrow-beam antenna delivering 26-decibel-watt jamming power, with jammers spaced 4 miles apart.
To successfully cover the entire area of Taiwan, which spans approximately 13,900 square miles, a deployment of at least 935 jammers would be necessary, each capable of suppressing about 14.8 square miles.
The researchers emphasized that accurate results would require actual measurements of the radiation patterns of Starlink user terminals. This research indicates a significant potential threat to the operational capability of Starlink in geopolitical hotspots, especially given the critical role the satellite network plays in modern warfare.