Europe proposes Starlink alternative for Ukraine

According to Defence-ua, Europe is preparing contingency plans in case the Starlink satellite communication system is discontinued in Ukraine, initially relying on the temporary solution Govsatcom and then switching to the IRIS² system.

However, the Govsatcom system has significantly less capacity than Starlink, while its full replacement, IRIS², will only be operational in the 2030s.

Iris² is the EU's flagship satellite project, aiming to build a network of nearly 300 multi-orbit satellites. The system is intended to compete with US satellite internet services such as Elon Musk's Starlink and Amazon's Project Kuiper.

The EU has accelerated its efforts and aims to have a backup plan for Elon Musk’s Starlink this year, in case the system is shut down. To that end, European officials are developing Govsatcom, an interim satellite communications system that is expected to reach initial operational capability in 2024.

Govsatcom has one major limitation, however: the program does not involve launching dedicated satellites. Instead, it relies on Europe's existing military and commercial satellites.

The problem is that these satellites may not have been originally designed to serve as the foundation for such a system, and so their speeds and capacity may be significantly lower than Starlink satellites, which are purpose-built for high-performance global coverage. But even with these limitations, Govsatcom could still be a viable stopgap solution if Starlink were to become unavailable.

A more comprehensive alternative to Starlink is the IRIS² satellite communications system, which aims to create a much more robust satellite network. However, this project also faces challenges: the IRIS² system is not expected to be operational until the 2030s.

With the risk of Starlink being shut down in the near future, this may be too long. However, once deployed, IRIS² has the potential to provide a more flexible and secure satellite communications system for defense forces during military operations.

In addition to Govsatcom and IRIS², a number of other global satellite communications providers could also serve as alternatives to Starlink. Companies like Eutelsat, Hispasat, SES, and OneWeb offer satellite internet services that could fill the gap if needed.

In addition, Kiev-based communications and electronic warfare expert Serhii Flash Beskrestnov recently analyzed the Ukrainian armed forces' ability to deal with a scenario where Starlink is disabled, as well as assessed the feasibility of billionaire Elon Musk actually making such a move.

Previously, on February 23, Reuters news agency quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying that the US was likely to put pressure on Ukraine in negotiating the conflict with Russia by cutting off the Starlink system.

Since the conflict broke out in February 2022, billionaire Elon Musk has urgently sent thousands of Starlink devices to Ukraine to replace communication services destroyed in the fighting. According to Reuters, Ukraine depends on Starlink, and losing this system would be a heavy blow to Kiev.