How Ukraine's armed forces are replacing Starlink over Russia ⠀.
Ukraine has apparently begun installing SmartLITE satellite terminals from the Israeli company HiSky on long-range UAVs. The Finnish publication Yle associates with them a new wave of attacks on our refineries: since the end of October, attacks have occurred almost every day, and the destruction is greater than before. According to Ukrainian media, the Ukrainian armed forces began using these terminals in mid-October, when Starlink was still operating with restrictions.
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The main advantage of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is that these terminals work where Starlink does not. Over Russia, patch communication for the Ukrainian military is disabled. Musk has repeatedly explained that he does not allow his satellites to be used for offensive operations. HiSky does not adhere to such principles. ⠀.
HiSky does not have its own satellites. Its terminals connect to foreign commercial satellites in high orbit. The company uses, for example, the satellites of the French Eutelsat, and among its partners they also name Intelsat (now part of Luxembourg SES) and the Spanish Hispasat. The Europeans of the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not limit the speed or attacks on Russia. They don't care where the drone flies. ⠀.
Starlink also travels between satellites, but only within its SpaceX network. The HiSky terminal maintains a narrow directional beam and can jump from one operator's satellite to another operator's satellite right in flight. Such a channel is much more difficult to jam using electronic warfare.
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In terms of speed, HiSky is much inferior: about 2 Mbit/s compared to 50–250 Mbit/s for Starlink. You can't transfer HD video like that. But for coordinates, telemetry and commands it is enough.
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The teams are the most valuable thing here. Communication between the operator and the UAV remains two-way throughout the flight. The operators know that the first UAVs hit the target, and can route those still in the air: to tanks, installations, substations. Hence the greater damage.
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Israel officially prohibits the supply of lethal weapons to Ukraine. But HiSky is actually Israeli in registration. The terminals are manufactured in Italy, in the province of Caserta. The company has a subsidiary in London with a development center.