< Back to situations

Get alerts on this situation

We’ll email you as it develops, and you can follow the whole thread from day one.

Unsubscribe anytime.

[SITUATION] · [ACTIVE]

3 clusters · 5 sources · 26 days · First seen 28 days ago · Last updated 2 days ago

Categories: TECHNOLOGY · INTERNATIONAL

Russia's Starlink jamming program

Entities: Russia · Starlink · Volna Kupol Garant · Dmitri Kuziakin · Dmitry Kuzyakin

Overview

In July 2026 reports noted a Russia‑China coordination to neutralize Starlink. By early August 2026 Russia announced the Volna Kupol Garant electronic‑warfare system, a concrete implementation that uses narrow, high‑frequency radio beams to overload Starlink terminals across multiple bands, temporarily disabling service. First observed in March 2025 during a public activation in Crimea, the system is produced by a Simferopol‑registered firm, costs about 150 million rubles per set, and is mounted on Mi‑8AMTSh helicopters as well as ground sites.

The latest description reveals the system comprises six trailer‑mounted modules, each with two steerable antennas, creating a jamming zone of up to 20 km². It emits in eight 62.5 MHz bands between 14 GHz and 14.5 GHz, blocking a satellite’s ability to serve ground terminals for several minutes without damaging the satellite itself. Chief designer Dmitri Kuziakin confirmed that Volna “does not physically destroy the satellite, but during illumination blocks the capacity of a given satellite to serve ground terminals.” The deployment against Ukrainian forces has raised concerns in the United States and Ukraine, underscoring the growing vulnerability of low‑Earth‑orbit commercial constellations to state‑directed electronic warfare.

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[● 2 SOURCES] Russia has developed a radio‑electronic warfare system called Volna Kupol Garant intended to disrupt Starlink satellite communications. (3e926eef-ff10-44f8-a05e-c5af42d70123, 14d8973f-24b4-4839-a15b-cb689cd5401b)
[● 2 SOURCES] The system emits a narrow high‑frequency radio beam that overloads satellite receiving antennas, temporarily preventing satellites from receiving signals. (3e926eef-ff10-44f8-a05e-c5af42d70123, 14d8973f-24b4-4839-a15b-cb689cd5401b)
[● 2 SOURCES] The jammer does not physically damage satellites but temporarily blinds them. (3e926eef-ff10-44f8-a05e-c5af42d70123, 14d8973f-24b4-4839-a15b-cb689cd5401b)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Volna Kupol Garant creates interference in eight data bands from 14 GHz to 14.5 GHz, each 62.5 MHz wide, covering about 20 km². (3e926eef-ff10-44f8-a05e-c5af42d70123)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The system was first publicly deployed on 3 March 2025 by Sergei Aksjonov, head of the occupation administration of Crimea. (3e926eef-ff10-44f8-a05e-c5af42d70123)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The system is manufactured by a company of the same name registered in Simferopol and costs about 150 million rubles per set. (3e926eef-ff10-44f8-a05e-c5af42d70123)
[○ 1 SOURCE] SpaceX can quickly detect the jammer’s signals, enabling rapid identification of its use. (3e926eef-ff10-44f8-a05e-c5af42d70123)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Volna Kupol Garant has been installed on multi‑role Mi‑8AMTSh helicopters. (3e926eef-ff10-44f8-a05e-c5af42d70123)

Timeline

2 days ago

[TECHNOLOGY] 2 sources
Russia unveils Volna Kupol Garant anti-Starlink jamming system
Russia claims a new system, Volna Kupol Garant, can temporarily jam Starlink satellite communications using a high‑frequency radio beam, creating a 20 km² jamming zone; its performance remains unverified.
5 days ago

[TECHNOLOGY] 3 sources
Russia deploys Volna Kupol Garant to jam Starlink satellites
Russia's Volna Kupol Garant jammer targets Starlink, using a high‑frequency beam to temporarily blind satellites; first used publicly in March 2025, costing ~150 million RUB per set and mounted on Mi‑8AMTSh hel
28 days ago

[INTERNATIONAL] 7 sources
Russia, China plot to neutralize Elon Musk's Starlink satellite network
Russia and China are jointly developing diplomatic, electronic and kinetic methods to neutralize SpaceX's Starlink network, a key communication tool in the Ukraine war.

Sources

armyweb.cz · news.yam.md · realitatea.md · revueconflits.com · techgear.gr

This summary has been updated 2 times: see revision history