WAR IN UKRAINEAnother Problem for Russia in Ukraine: Effective Satellites Are Few and Far Between
The Russian forces have faced many problems in Ukraine. A big item on the list of problems: satellites — there are too few of them, and too few with high-quality capabilities. According to experts and open-source information, Russia has long been saddled with a small and inadequate fleet of communications and surveillance satellites that in many cases rely on either outdated technology or imported parts that are now harder to come by due to Western sanctions.
By all accounts, Russia’s war on Ukraine isn’t going well.
The estimated death toll among Russian soldiers is about the same as Soviet losses for the entire 10-year Afghan war. Russian forces have failed to achieve strategic goals such as taking Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, or the major port city of Mariupol. More than two-thirds of Russia’s battalion tactical groups — its basic fighting units — have been deployed. Its forces have been plagued by major interoperability and communication failures.
Another big item on the list of problems: satellites — there are too few of them, and too few with high-quality capabilities.
According to experts and open-source information compiled by RFE/RL, Russia has long been saddled with a small and inadequate fleet of communications and surveillance satellites that in many cases rely on either outdated technology or imported parts that are now harder to come by due to Western sanctions.
Ukraine has no satellite fleet of its own. But it has benefited greatly not only from the unprecedented amount of weaponry and military equipment that the United States has supplied, but also from an unprecedented amount of intelligence, including real-time data on Russian troop movements.
It’s unclear if that includes high-resolution imagery from spy satellites.
But in any case, a proliferation of Western technological developments has resulted in an explosion of high-quality, real-time satellite imagery available not only to military intelligence but also private, commercial companies. Russia has virtually none of that.
“In principle, Russia is already practically blind in orbit, ” said Bart Hendrix, a Brussels-based analyst and expert on Soviet and Russian space programs.
According to a database maintained by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a respected U.S. nongovernmental organization, Russia currently has around 100 military or dual-purpose satellites. Nineteen of them are classified as remote sensing satellites, with technology allowing either optical photography or radio signal surveillance. The others serve other purposes.
Resolution Matters
Russia has two optical reconnaissance satellites in orbit now, called Persona, Hendrix said, but they were launched between seven and nine years ago, meaning they may be near the end of their working life.
Adding further to the problem: The maximum resolution of the Persona satellites is believed to be 50 centimeters per pixel, Hendrix said.
