Ukrainian – Russian war: outer space, invisible borders in the war in Ukraine
- Author, Jonathan Beales
- Authority, Defense Correspondent, BBC News
photo credit, SCIENTIFIC PHOTO LIBRARY
The war in Ukraine underlined the growing importance of space for troops in the field.
In an interview with the BBC, the head of the US Space Force, General Jay Raymond, described it as “the first war in which commercial space capabilities really played a significant role”. This was also the first major conflict where both sides became heavily dependent on space.
General Raymond – who is the newest branch of the US armed forces – avoided providing specific details about how the US and its allies have assisted Ukraine.
But it does give a clear indication of what they’re doing. “We use space to strike with precision, we use space to provide missile warning, any threat that might come to the United States or our allies or partners,” he said.
General Raymond warns that “there are all kinds of threats” from outer space.
There are already more than 5,000 satellites in space – most of them are in commercial operation.
But among them are hundreds of dedicated military satellites – the United States, Russia and China have the most.
Ukraine doesn’t have it. But it has received significant assistance from the West in a number of ways.
Supervision
ISR satellites are also crucial in “telling the truth” about wars, such as the Bucha massacre, near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
The first is Intelligence Provision, Surveillance and Reconnaissance – or ISR.
Ukraine has access to an unprecedented amount of commercial satellite imagery.
At a recent conference, the director of the US National Geospatial Intelligence Service said the agency had more than double the commercial image available to Ukraine as war approached.
Deputy Air Marshal Paul Godfrey, who heads the UK Space Command, said that in addition to the commercial and civilian ISRs being provided to Ukraine, “a large number of countries with military capabilities in space are also interested in Ukraine”.
The space-based ISR has helped identify the initial buildup of Russian troops before the February 24 invasion and the movement of troops and military equipment since then. Satellites have been used to track Russian warships in the Black Sea, including the cruiser Moskva which was sunk by Ukraine.
Early warning radars – like the giant radar at RAF Fylingdales in North Yorkshire – also track ballistic missile launches.
Deputy Air Marshal Godfrey said the ISR satellite was also key to “telling the truth” about the war.
He gave the example of the Buca massacre, near Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. According to him, Russian claims that the bodies of civilians were already in the streets when they arrived were contradicted by satellite imagery which showed otherwise.
Media organizations, including the BBC, are also benefiting from unprecedented access to commercial satellite imagery, which can be used to corroborate claims on the ground. This includes identifying mass graves or recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian air bases in Crimea, Ukraine’s southern peninsula which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
The early warning radar is also capable of tracking ballistic missile launches.
The US also discussed in detail the installation of another giant radar in the UK to monitor what is happening in outer space.
And recently, Ukrainian volunteers raised enough money to buy an entire satellite to help the country’s military detect Russian targets.
The Sar (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite from the Finnish company ICEYE proved to be very effective – during the first two days of its use, the damage caused to the Russian army exceeded 16 million dollars, which was more than the cost of purchasing the satellite. , according to Ukrainian officials.
Communication
photo credit, Getty’s image
Elon Musk shipped thousands of Starlink internet kits – like this one, in south Odesa – to Ukraine.
Space is also important for communication during war.
At the start of the war, Russia carried out a series of military offensives and cyber attacks to paralyze Ukraine’s main communications node.
Deputy Air Marshal Godfrey credited Elon Musk with “essentially restoring the internet to Ukraine”, thanks to a Twitter plea from Ukraine’s Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
Elon Musk has shipped thousands of Starlink internet kits to Ukraine, providing access to the constellation of satellites orbiting SpaceX.
These kits were critical in providing the Ukrainian military with secure communications and situational awareness during the war. I saw them used from a Ukrainian commando bunker in the eastern Donbass region.
precision weapon
photo credit, Getty’s image
Ukraine successfully targeted key Russian targets with its high-precision HIMARS rocket.
While Russia and, more recently, Ukraine have relied on space-based positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) systems to carry out precision strikes on primary targets, Russian cruise missiles use their own Glonass positioning satellites to find their targets.
For Ukraine, adding to its arsenal of US-supplied precision weapons has been key to its recent progress.
Himars rockets, which have a range of up to 80 km and are GPS-guided, have been used to destroy key targets, such as ammunition depots and command centers deep behind front lines.
Recently, the United States supplied Ukraine with GPS-guided Excalibur artillery shells, which are more accurate than so-called “stupid” ammunition. Precision makes a difference.
The future of space warfare
The increasing use of space raises concerns that the conflict will transcend land, sea, and air boundaries.
Russia and China have both conducted drop tests on their own satellites, and Admiral Tony Radakin, the UK’s chief of defense staff, recently warned that Russia could carry out strikes against Western targets in space.
General Raymond stated that “there are a wide variety of threats that concern us”. He cited GPS and communications jamming, direct energy weapons such as lasers, or ground-fired missiles that could be used to target satellites.
He said the United States and its allies want to ensure that there is always safe and responsible behavior in space, but added: “What worries me is that not everyone shares this viewpoint.”
In reality, space weaponry is well under way.
