At reports of a Russian weapon aimed at Starlink, experts shake their heads – SlashGear

Even if you’ve never used the service, you’re probably familiar with Starlink, the global Internet service provider that relies on a series of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). SpaceX launched the first Starlink satellites in 2019, and since then more than 9,000 other satellites have joined the original five dozen. Starlink plans an eventual fleet of more than 40,000 people, but before that can happen, Russia seems interested in retiring some of them.

At the end of December 2025, the Associated press reported that “Two NATO countries’ intelligence agencies suspect Russia is developing a new anti-satellite weapon to attack Elon Musk’s Starlink constellation.” The unnamed services apparently said that Russia would not attack satellites individually or with electromagnetic pulse devices, but rather use a “zone effect” weapon consisting of a cloud of dense pellets. While reports without sources should be taken lightly, potential Russian interest in disabling Starlink satellites could be due to Ukraine’s dependence on Starlink since Russia invaded in 2022. While anti-satellite weapons are not new, they pose a significant risk in the form of widespread debris fields that could threaten other satellites.

A ‘zone effect’ weapon like the one mentioned is like firing a shotgun at the satellites, with one major difference. While shotgun pellets are limited by physics and gravity to a flight of a few seconds, debris continues to drift in space until it hits something or is captured by Earth’s gravitational field. The AP quoted defense expert Victoria Samson of the Secure World Foundation as saying: “I would honestly be very surprised if they did something like that.” Brigadier General Christopher Horner – who commands the Canadian Army’s Space Division – wasn’t so sure. After confirming that his intelligence services had not found any evidence of such a weapon, he added the caveat: “It’s not unlikely.”

Starlink satellites travel at a speed of 27,000 km/h (nearly 17,000 mph) and orbit 550 km (341.75 miles) above Earth. Hitting even a small object at that speed can cause catastrophic damage to a satellite’s delicate structures and instruments, and Starlink’s aren’t the only ones in low Earth orbit.

NASA defines low Earth orbit as less than 2,000 kilometers, noting that the International Space Station occupies this level of space and that it plans to expand access to “government agencies, commercial providers, academic organizations and potentially more.”

Deploying a “zone effect” weapon as described in the Associated Press reporting would certainly cause indiscriminate damage to these satellites. The potential risks would be obvious to any rogue state in the world, and Russia certainly has scientists who understand them. Even if Russia never plans to develop or use such a device, it is possible that this story was fabricated and leaked to discourage Starlink’s operational support to Ukraine. Starlink is also offering internet service in Venezuela following U.S. military operations there, although only until February 3.

Zone effect weapons are relatively low-tech, and Russia has a dedicated space launch agency with the ability to deploy much more capable anti-satellite weapons. One of the most powerful military air defense systems in the world is the Russian S-500 Prometheus, which can disable satellites in the vicinity of low Earth orbit. The S-500 was designed as a defensive weapon, but it’s not a huge leap of logic to imagine it being used for a “zone effect” or other attack on Starlink satellites.