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# Inside Russia’s and China’s Potential Plots to Take Down Starlink
- URL: https://broadbandbreakfast.com/inside-russias-and-chinas-potential-plots-to-take-down-starlink/
- Published: 2026-08-07T18:59:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-28T21:47:35.000Z
- Description: As SpaceX’s satellites have become a valuable military weapon, the two countries may be exploring options to eliminate or neutralize low-Earth orbit technology.
- Author: Abby Larkin
- Tags: Donald Trump, Satellite, Starlink, SpaceX, China, Russia, Victoria Samson, Clayton Swope, Voldymyr Zelenskyy, Kathleen Brett, Secure World Foundation, CSIS, Christopher Horner, NATO, Volna Kupol Garant, #with-siderail, Guangzhou, Grant Spellmeyer, ACA Connects

WASHINGTON, August 7, 2026 – As SpaceX’s Starlink emerges as a powerful military tool, there’s increasing evidence that Russia and China are seeking opportunities to get rid of the low-Earth orbit satellites, even if it means developing weapons that are the stuff of science fiction.

Hidden behind Starlink’s civilian uses is the fact that the technology is an extremely valuable military weapon– so helpful that Russia and China are taking notice.

The satellites have become ground zero for military efforts in Ukraine, offering important ways to connect. The technology has helped Ukrainian military forces communicate and guide drones on the battlefield.

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“The war in Ukraine made the military utility of Starlink crystal clear to everyone. So clear to Beijing that it wants its own broadband constellations,” Center for Strategic and International Services deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project **Clayton Swope** told Broadband Breakfast.

In a [July 20 Light Reading podcast](https://www.lightreading.com/cable-technology/policy-tech-and-convergence-to-collide-at-the-independent-show?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com), ACA Connects CEO **Grant Spellmeyer** expressed concerns regarding potential attacks against China, saying that we need to invest in other internet options like fiber that “doesn’t get blown out of the sky by the Chinese.”

China is developing its own rival versions of Starlink called SpaceSail and Guowang. The Chinese LEO satellites aim to market to America’s politically sensitive areas overseas, where Starlink is unavailable for service.

### *Extremely useful for Ukraine*

The technology has become so useful for Ukraine that Ukrainian President **Voldymyr Zelenskyy** is seeking permission from SpaceX CEO **Elon Musk** to expand military access for Ukrainian fighters. 

During the Ukrainian president’s short trip to Washington at the [end of July](https://apnews.com/article/trump-ukraine-zelenskyy-starlink-musk-778ba3f2917298cd3b1af169d1427efc?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com), he sought assistance from President **Donald Trump** and other American officials to help Ukraine win permission to use Starlink to guide drone strikes inside Russia. Up to now, Musk has only allowed Ukraine to use Starlink in Ukraine.

Since the LEO satellites have become extremely valuable for communication and guiding drones, Russian troops have been thought to illegally use the satellites. However, in February, SpaceX, the parent company of Starlink, said it was able to successfully block Russian use of Starlink, striking a blow to Russian forces.

“The Ukrainian government and SpaceX worked to create a verification system where legitimate Ukrainian users would register their terminals and unregistered terminals would be disabled,” editors Secure World Foundation (SWF) Chief Director of Space Security **Victoria Samson** and SWF Space Security and Stability **Kathleen Brett** wrote in the [2026 SWF’s Global Counterspace Capabilities Report](https://www.swfound.org/publications-and-reports/2026-global-counterspace-capabilities-report?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com).

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SpaceX also created an update that cuts connectivity if the user moves more than 75 kilometers per hour, successfully blocking Russian drones.

In a[ Feb. 1 post on the social network X](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2017868971479818599?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com),Musksaid, “Looks like the steps we took to stop the unauthorized use of Starlink by Russia have worked. Let us know if more needs to be done.”

Granting expanded Starlink access to Ukraine could come with high risks for Musk. Russia and Ukraine are already seeking ways to strike blows to Musk’s technology, and granting access could provoke further aggression.

### *Russian jamming systems*

In an attempt to stop Starlink, Russia has deployed powerful jamming systems called Volna Kupol Garant to disrupt Starlink connections. The devices emit a signal that destabilizes Starlink connections in about a 2.5-kilometer radius and are only capable of jamming one satellite at a time.

While jamming provides a non-lethal way to neutralize Starlink, developing lethal weapons allows Russia and China the opportunity to prepare for future military threats.

“China and Russia want to erode the military edge to the United States from Starlink,” Swope said. “If Russia and China weren’t developing weapons with Starlink in mind, I would be surprised.” 

In July, The Insider [leaked documents](https://theins.press/en/inv/294635?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com) from a series of Russian Chinese military meetings in Nov. 2023 at a summit in Guangzhou, China, revealing a joint plan to take down Starlink. The slides included a three-level escalation plan to take on the low-Earth orbit satellites. 

### *Three-phase plan to combat Starlink*

Phase one involves legal and diplomatic pressure, proposing that Russia and China build an international coalition to push for limits on constellation expansion. Phase two seeks to block Starlink’s physical space by having Russia and China file jointly for critical frequency bands and orbital slots.Phase threeenacts a more aggressive approach of physically destroying the LEO satellites.

It has long been suspected that Russia and China are developing anti-Starlink weapons beyond jamming.

To eliminate the LEO satellites, slides from Guangzhou propose starting with a cyber war. The plan starts with “access spoofing, virus infection and the exploitation of vulnerabilities” to paralyze satellites through malware, making them unusable. 

However, hacking the technology would be incredibly difficult because of the value SpaceX places on Starlink’s cybersecurity. According to the 2026 SWF’s report, the company created a “bug bounty” program in 2022 where “researchers were invited to try to find cyber vulnerabilities in the entire Starlink system.”

### *Going beyond cyberattacks with high-density pellets*

Russia and China have also been exploring potential weapons that could go beyond cyber-attacks by physically damaging or destroying the LEO satellites.

Two NATO-nation intelligence services suspect that Russia is developing an anti-satellite weapon using [destructive orbiting clouds of shrapnel](https://apnews.com/article/russia-starlink-musk-ukraine-space-china-canada-c69c1fda5ffc93828712ab723e606a2c?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com), according to the Associated Press. The weapon would seek to flood Starlink orbits with hundreds of thousands of high-density pellets, potentially disabling multiple satellites at once.

However, the weapon has been met with skepticism because the high-density pellets could cause chaos, destroying satellites for other companies, including Russia and Chinese satellites.

The Commander of the Canadian military’s Space Division, Brig. Gen. **Christopher Horner** says while he has not personally been briefed on that type of weapon, the possibility cannot be ruled out in light of previous U.S. allegations that Russia also has been pursuing a nuclear, space-based weapon. 

“If the reporting on the nuclear system is accurate and that they’re willing to develop that … it wouldn’t strike me as shocking that something just short of that, but equally damaging, is within their wheelhouse of development,” Horner said according to the Associated Press.

Samson told Broadband Breakfast that Russia is reportedly working to develop a nuclear space weapon that would destroy satellites by creating a massive energy wave when detonated.

The weapon would be capable of wiping out mega constellations of satellites. However, because of repercussions, detonating a nuclear weapon is not something Russia would likely use as a last resort.

### *Chinese ground-based microwave weapon?*

China has also been developing its own weapons. In February, the [Asia Times](https://asiatimes.com/2026/02/chinas-starlink-killer-new-cutting-edge-of-microwave-weapons/?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com) reported that Chinese researchers developed a powerful ground-based microwave weapon potentially capable of disabling or frying the internal electronics of LEO satellites. 

Chinese researchers have also proposed a wide [variety of weapons](https://apnews.com/article/spacex-musk-starlink-china-satellites-759e53143378357ce3af21ca8a6916df?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com), including a fleet of satellites with corrosive materials to damage Starlink satellites, optical telescopes to monitor Starlink arrays, concocting deep fakes to create fake targets and shooting powerful lasers to burn Musk’s equipment.

Even if a weapon was developed, it would still be challenging to take down the satellites.

“It would be pretty hard to take down Starlink with a kinetic weapon. Right now, there are almost 10,900 active Starlinks in orbit,” Samson told Broadband Breakfast. “If I were Russia, I’d be continuing to jam Starlink communications. The other technologies may not work, while jamming can be done today.”