Russia Is Creating Orbiting Clouds of Shrapnel to Take Down Starlinks, NATO Suspects

Of the greater than 14,000 energetic satellites in low-Earth orbit at this time, roughly two-thirds belong to Elon Musk’s Starlink. Governments worldwide—together with the US—rely upon these satellites for distant communications, army operations, and web entry. It seems Russia could also be growing a new strategy to take them down.

NATO intelligence findings reviewed by the Related Press counsel Russia is growing a weapon that might goal Starlinks with damaging orbiting clouds of shrapnel. The “zone-effect” weapon would flood their orbits with tons of of 1000’s of high-density pellets to disable a number of satellites without delay, the AP experiences.

Gizmodo couldn’t independently confirm the findings however reached out to the U.S. Area Drive (USSF), Russia’s presidential press workplace, and SpaceX for remark. None responded by the point of publication.

The suggestion that Russia could also be investing in new methods to focus on Starlinks doesn’t come as a shock. The satellites have played a crucial position in Ukraine’s protection in opposition to President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. What does shock some specialists is the concept Russia would pursue an assault technique that would endanger its personal satellites and people of its allies.

Russia’s potential motive

Simply days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, Starlink satellites became active over Ukraine. The transfer adopted a request from Ukrainian management to SpaceX to exchange web companies that had already been destroyed by Russian forces.

Since then, Starlinks have confirmed important to Ukraine’s survival, upholding crucial civilian infrastructure, battlefield communications, and defensive army operations reminiscent of drone strikes, surveillance, and artillery coordination.

Russian officers have warned that they may goal industrial satellites supporting Ukraine’s army. The flexibility to disrupt Ukraine’s Starlink entry would definitely improve Russia’s benefit, however deploying the sort of weapon might come at a major price to the invading nation.

Dangerous unintended penalties

Flooding Starlink orbits with shrapnel might disable a number of satellites without delay, however it might additionally danger collateral injury to different spacecraft. Such an assault might get “uncontrolled in a rush,” Brigadier Common Christopher Horner, the commander of the Canadian army’s Area Division, advised the AP.

“You blow up a field filled with BBs,” he mentioned. Doing that might “blanket a complete orbital regime and take out each Starlink satellite tv for pc and each different satellite tv for pc that’s in an analogous regime. And I believe that’s the half that’s extremely troubling.”

The present variety of Russian satellites in orbit is unclear, however Russia maintains an energetic presence with army, industrial, and experimental satellites in low-Earth orbit and geostationary-Earth orbit, in response to USSF. China, a key Russia ally, had practically 1,200 satellites in orbit as of July 2025, USSF experiences.

Deploying a zone-effect weapon might, in concept, injury these belongings. China’s Tiangong Area Station and the Worldwide Area Station—of which Russia is a key accomplice—would even be in peril of particles impacts from such assaults.

“I’d be very shocked, frankly, if [Russia] have been to do one thing like that,” Victoria Samson, a space-security specialist on the Safe World Basis who leads the group’s annual research of anti-satellite methods, advised the AP.

Nonetheless, it’s not outdoors the realm of risk, Horner mentioned. “If the reporting on the nuclear weapons system is correct and that they’re keen to develop that and keen to go to that finish, effectively it wouldn’t strike me as surprising that one thing simply wanting that, however equally damaging, is inside their wheelhouse of growth,” he advised the AP.

What’s extra, this technique begins to make sense when one considers the truth that Russia is falling woefully behind the U.S. throughout a number of domains of area know-how. Starlink alone dwarfs the mixed inhabitants of each Russia’s and China’s orbital spacecraft. By knocking out industrial satellites, Russia could try to degree the taking part in discipline, even when it means taking out a few of its personal belongings and probably dropping entry to low-Earth orbit.

A lot about this potential risk to the Starlink constellation stays unknown, underscoring how quickly warfare is evolving as area itself turns into a battlefield. As nations proceed to push the boundaries of their orbital capabilities, the subsequent battle might play out excessive above Earth’s floor.