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Russian troops use Starlink licensed and imported from Dubai

bulgarianmilitary.com

121–130 of 297 posts

Re: Russian troops use Starlink licensed and imported from Dubai

#121
post #94
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Forgive me if I'm thinking like a TV writer since I don't have the scientific knowledge, hence the question: can GPS signals not be spoofed, if you are in possession of the device you want to trick? I.e. Couldn't they have fake GPS signals right next to a Starlink terminal that's not strong enough to have a wide-reaching effect, but enough for the terminal to believe it's somewhere it isn't and report that false loca…

Starlink satellites are in a very, very low orbit - which means they "see" a fairly small patch of land. So if you're in eastern Ukraine, currently satellites #32581 and #44197 are above you, with #17994 coming soon over the horizon (numbers invented). Additionally, they have phased antenna arrays able to narrow-beam your data pretty much to you (this is very useful as you can, among other things, recycle the exact s…

Obviously what Russia will do is send a spacecraft to bump some of the starlink satellites to point upwards towards space, and then launch satellites in higher orbit to bounce the signal to anywhere in Russia, bypassing the geo-fencing /s.

Re: Russian troops use Starlink licensed and imported from Dubai

#122
post #50

Time for Ukraine to start shooting down satellites? What is the most efficient way to do it?

[flagged]

Ukraine might economically collapse under the weight of the war machine of one the biggest military powers in the world. You could do better than spinning classic Russian propaganda tropes of "Ukraine is the most corrupt country on Earth". There is corruption in Ukraine, more than in the EU but about the same level as other non-EU countries like Moldova, Serbia, Kazakhstan etc.

Re: Russian troops use Starlink licensed and imported from Dubai

#125
post #42

Starlink doesn't offer service in UAE, so this must refer to diverted use of Starlink Maritime. Starlink Maritime is offered through (among others) Dubai-based maritime supplier ELCOME.[0] The ToS for Starlink Maritime isn't available, but this partner brochure[1] says: "Starlink Maritime is available for use in waters around the globe. Coverage in Territorial Waters is contingent on government approval ." (italics i…

Forgive me if I'm thinking like a TV writer since I don't have the scientific knowledge, hence the question: can GPS signals not be spoofed, if you are in possession of the device you want to trick? I.e. Couldn't they have fake GPS signals right next to a Starlink terminal that's not strong enough to have a wide-reaching effect, but enough for the terminal to believe it's somewhere it isn't and report that false loca…

Spoofing is a big topic in the GNSS world (which is the broader set of satellite constellations like GPS). There's a lot of stuff happening to prevent spoofing. One of those things is using digital signatures that you can use to authenticate the signal. Another thing is using signals from multiple satellite constellations and correlating those. And of course the way these things work you need to talk 3-5 satellites from each network at least to be able to reliably interpolate the position. Even older networks, like GPS, change over time as satellites get replaced and software is updated.

The advantage Starlink has is that there are a lot more satellites that are also in a much lower orbit. There has been some talk about using their satellites for positioning. I think they look at that as a bit of a low value market so far.

Re: Russian troops use Starlink licensed and imported from Dubai

#126
post #42

Starlink doesn't offer service in UAE, so this must refer to diverted use of Starlink Maritime. Starlink Maritime is offered through (among others) Dubai-based maritime supplier ELCOME.[0] The ToS for Starlink Maritime isn't available, but this partner brochure[1] says: "Starlink Maritime is available for use in waters around the globe. Coverage in Territorial Waters is contingent on government approval ." (italics i…

Forgive me if I'm thinking like a TV writer since I don't have the scientific knowledge, hence the question: can GPS signals not be spoofed, if you are in possession of the device you want to trick? I.e. Couldn't they have fake GPS signals right next to a Starlink terminal that's not strong enough to have a wide-reaching effect, but enough for the terminal to believe it's somewhere it isn't and report that false loca…

I guess Starlink receive the encrypted GPS signal, and send the encryption back. If they can’t decode it they can probably block the receiver.

The public normally use the unencrypted one with lower accuracy. Can fake GPS, but I don’t think it would last for long.

Re: Russian troops use Starlink licensed and imported from Dubai

#127

I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone propose the possibility that allowing Russia to use Starlimk is an espionage play. I have no idea if that's actually what's going on, but if it would give Starlink information on troop locations and open a door for listening in on all Starlink-based communications, you would want the public and Russia to believe the CEO is on their side. It would also align with the fact that Russi…

There is of course the reality that they actively helped the Ukranians with internet connectivity when early in the war they lost most of their satellite connectivity due to Russian hackers disrupting that. Distinguishing Russian users from Ukranian ones in Ukraine is probably not that easy.

Re: Russian troops use Starlink licensed and imported from Dubai

#128
post #120
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These kind of conversations are exhausting. I for one don’t know all the details, which I think there are many. I realize it is easy to make a blanket accusation and harder to provide details. Last time I looked this up it was pretty murky. Specifically on your point I believe there was a couple things at play but maybe I am wrong. 1) did not have approval by the state department 2) blanket rule that they could be us…

[flagged]

Why is this comment noteworthy? He is a smart guy irrespective of whomsoever makes this observation.

Re: Russian troops use Starlink licensed and imported from Dubai

#129

I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone propose the possibility that allowing Russia to use Starlimk is an espionage play. I have no idea if that's actually what's going on, but if it would give Starlink information on troop locations and open a door for listening in on all Starlink-based communications, you would want the public and Russia to believe the CEO is on their side. It would also align with the fact that Russi…

Do you think the American government can't already find Russian ships? America gets their ass beat consistently in unwinnable wars against guerilla armies, but in terms of identifying giant warships I think they're pretty capable.

Re: Russian troops use Starlink licensed and imported from Dubai

#130
post #120
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These kind of conversations are exhausting. I for one don’t know all the details, which I think there are many. I realize it is easy to make a blanket accusation and harder to provide details. Last time I looked this up it was pretty murky. Specifically on your point I believe there was a couple things at play but maybe I am wrong. 1) did not have approval by the state department 2) blanket rule that they could be us…

[flagged]

And? Not to be dismissive but this does not prove any point. I have no idea what kind of game anyone is playing so this kind of article does not have much meaning to me.

What does have meaning to me is an US based company that is supplying weapons to foreign nations/groups needs approval by the US government.

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