China and Russia map joint strategy to neutralise Starlink, experts warn

An investigation by The Insider, Der Spiegel, and Le Monde has uncovered a structured military-technical cooperation programme between China and Russia designed to counter SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network. Documents from a 2023 Russo-Chinese Military-Technical Cooperation Forum reveal that both nations are developing an escalation ladder of countermeasures. These range from diplomatic pressure and regulatory filings to electromagnetic jamming and physical destruction via anti-satellite weapons or cyber attacks.

Experts highlight a complementary dynamic in this partnership: China possesses superior launch capabilities and resources, while Russia offers battle-tested experience from the conflict in Ukraine. Specific technologies under development include ground-based microwave weapons, jamming systems for Starlink receivers, and concepts for ejecting pellets into satellite orbits. This collaboration has raised concerns among NATO intelligence services and the US Space Force regarding the resilience of US military satellite constellations and the potential for debris or radiation to render low Earth orbit unusable.

Concurrently, Chinese companies have recently recovered their first reusable orbital-class rocket booster, potentially allowing for an increased launch cadence to deploy mega-constellations. The recovery of this booster marks a significant step in China’s ability to ramp up its space infrastructure, addressing a key logistical bottleneck. This advancement coincides with growing concerns from US defence officials that China’s expanding space capabilities, combined with Russian combat experience, pose a multifaceted threat to Western space assets.

The investigation reviewed a cache of documents detailing growing military cooperation, including discussions on integrated air and missile defence systems, autonomous swarm loitering munitions, next-generation armoured vehicles, and military aviation. A sixth bilateral meeting is scheduled for the end of this year in St Petersburg, indicating that the partnership is evolving beyond shared rhetoric into a structured, multi-disciplinary program.

Russian officials have long argued that the use of Western commercial satellites by Ukraine establishes an extremely dangerous trend, effectively making them military targets. This perspective is shared by some Western legal experts who note the risk of commercial satellite systems becoming valid military objectives. However, the joint development of countermeasures by Beijing and Moscow suggests a coordinated effort to degrade or destroy Starlink, which has proven vital for Ukrainian military operations since the full-scale invasion in 2022.

The proposed countermeasures include legal and diplomatic measures aimed at whipping up international pressure against further expansions of Starlink on the grounds of collision risks in low Earth orbit. The next step involves coordinated filings with international regulatory bodies for frequency bands and orbital slots to limit SpaceX’s ability to grow. At the same time, the escalation ladder proposes using electromagnetic jamming of Starlink to block it in certain regions.

The final stage of the escalation ladder involves the physical destruction of Starlink through cyber war and anti-satellite weapons. Chinese media have reported that engineers developed a powerful ground-based microwave weapon that could threaten satellites in low Earth orbit. NATO intelligence services are monitoring Russia’s work on a concept to eject small pellets into a satellite constellation’s orbit. If Russia moves in this direction, a nuclear detonation in low-Earth orbit could be the ultimate Starlink killer, though it would also render much of low Earth orbit unusable for any space mission for months or years.