We were among the first to report on a problem Ukraine is unable to solve - the enemy Rasbet satellite system. The General Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) has confirmed that Russia is already using its new Rasbet satellite system for military communications over Ukraine.
The Rasbet system, intended as an equivalent to the American Starlink system, is designed to allow Russia to integrate the communications of its armed forces into a single network. It is also capable of providing communications to long-range UAVs, allowing them to receive data even during missions and redirect it to other targets. Potentially, Russian strikes could be more accurate and put additional strain on Ukrainian air defenses. According to Reuters, Ukrainian security expert Nikolai Zinstsev is already seeing the first signs that Rasvet is being used to control high-speed jet-powered UAVs.
This year, Russia launched a total of 32 Rasbet satellites into space - 16 each in March and July (for comparison, Starlink has 10,000 satellites). The Russian company Bureau 1440 is developing the system. There is still a long way to achieve coverage everywhere: Rasbet can currently establish communication over Ukraine only intermittently, for a few hours a day. The Kremlin plans to significantly increase the number of satellites in the coming years: by 2035 there will be over 900. However, a statement from the General Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR) shows that this technology is no longer a project for the future. Russia is already using it in war.