Ukrainian arms manufacturer Fire Point has found ways to carry out long-range strikes in Russia and occupied areas of Ukraine without relying on SpaceX satellite services, its chief executive told Reuters.
CEO Iryna Terekh also said a new tactical ballistic missile developed by Fire Point could help boost the protection of Ukrainian cities, which have been pounded by Russian forces as Ukraine’s air defences run low.
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“We have built with this in mind. Fire Point systems are designed to finish a mission without a satellite link,” she said, discussing the recent SpaceX restrictions. “Navigation that works without any external signal is a priority.”
She declined to give details of the workarounds but made clear that having full access to the SpaceX systems over Russia would be a significantly boost.
“We found a way to technologically overcome this challenge, but this only covers probably 15 to 20% of what we could do if the Starlink was working (over Russia),” she said in an interview during a visit to London this month.
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In the 10 days when SpaceX’s satellite connectivity services were restricted, Ukrainian drones lost connection with those services when flying at over 100 miles (160 km) an hour.
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Same difference.