Inside Russia’s 1.5 Million Dollar Mobile Jammer Targeting Starlink Satellites

Russia has deployed a specialized electronic warfare system designed to jam Starlink satellite communications on the battlefield, according to Ukrainian military expert and advisor to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov on June 16.

The Russian military first attempted to suppress Starlink in 2024 during operations in the Kharkiv direction, but Ukrainian forces quickly neutralized the equipment, Serhii “Flash” noted.

Mass deployment of this technology was not observed again until 2026, following successful Ukrainian mid-range strikes on Russian logistics networks. In response to the renewed electronic warfare threat, Ukraine’s 422nd Separate UAV Battalion recently located and destroyed one of these specialized jamming complexes, the expert stated.

The system, designated as Volna Kupol Garant, is manufactured by the Simferopol-based company Russian Kupol. Serhii “Flash” explained that it operates by aiming a series of satellite dishes directly at overhead Starlink satellites to flood them with high-powered interference from the ground, preventing the satellites from receiving signals from standard user terminals.

Mechanically, the system targets the 14 to 14.5 gigahertz reception band, dividing the interference across eight distinct channels to blind the satellite. One complete complex is capable of disrupting communications across an area of approximately 20 square kilometers, according to the advisor.

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War in Ukraine

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The Volna Kupol Garant complex is transported on six trailers, each carrying two specialized antennas protected by egg-shaped outer casings that conceal rotating satellite dishes. The system requires significant power to operate and can run either on independent generators attached to each trailer or via an external electrical grid connection.

Serhii “Flash” added that the Russian manufacturer successfully sold these mobile jamming units to the military at a cost of 1.5 million dollars per complex.

While Russia invested millions in electronic warfare to blind Ukrainian Starlink terminals, Moscow simultaneously raced to develop its own sovereign satellite network. It was previously reported that the Russian forces could deploy a fully functional, low-Earth orbit alternative to Starlink along the front line within a year.

Analysts had already identified operational Russian prototypes from the homegrown “Rassvet” program, which provided temporary, 15-minute battlefield communication windows directly over Ukrainian territory as Moscow sought to replace its restricted Starlink access.

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