- Chinese study shows it is possible to block Starlink over Taiwan
- 1,000 to 2,000 drones equipped with jamming equipment could create an “electromagnetic shield” to do this
- Maintaining such a successful drone operation, however, would be far from easy.
Chinese scientists have demonstrated how it is theoretically possible to use a large swarm of drones to block satellite internet from Taiwan in a “large-scale electronic warfare” simulation.
Tom’s Hardware reports that the study, as the South China Morning Post (SCMP) (paywall) points out, found that plunging the whole of Taiwan into internet darkness would require around 1,000 or even up to 2,000 specially adapted jamming drones.
The study was carried out by Zhejiang University and the Beijing Institute of Technology and, as the SCMP explains: “Hundreds or even thousands of small synchronized jammers should be deployed in the sky – on drones, balloons or planes – to form an electromagnetic shield above the battlefield. »
Starlink has become a priority for China since Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites were deployed to help Ukraine after its attack by Russia in 2022, restore communications on the battlefield.
Denying Starlink so completely would not be an easy task, as you can imagine. Musk’s satellites carry intelligent technology and, compared to a conventional satellite, their collective “mesh network” nature makes them much more difficult to block.
The SCMP claims that Chinese scientists used real Starlink data to create a simulation of the positioning of Elon Musk’s satellites over a 12-hour period. They then developed a grid of jamming drones – using a mix of wide and narrow beam noise-generating electronic jammers, flying at an altitude of 20km – to successfully block the ground signal in all areas.
The conclusion was that 935 coordinated drones should create the “electromagnetic shield” needed to completely block Starlink from Taiwan. However, lower-powered (cheaper) drones could be used instead: deploying around 2,000 would be enough, according to the report.
Analysis: a costly effort to carry out
Obviously, mobilizing 1,000, or even 2,000 drones loaded with specialized jamming equipment is going to be a headache – because it’s not just about that initial deployment in a shield formation, but also about keeping those drones in place. This involves replacing them as necessary, as they will need to be refueled as part of a sustained internet blocking campaign that has been going on for some time.
It wouldn’t be cheap and it wouldn’t be logistically easy to manage, but China clearly has the means to pull off this feat, opening the door to a possible new way to leverage technology warfare. The study relies on certain assumptions, including ideal conditions for drone operation, while real-world deployment may be less than ideal.
And of course, the targeted island being could take action against these drones. Taiwan has anti-drone equipment, but the jamming drones will be 19 kilometers in the sky, so eliminating large numbers of them would not be trivial. It might be costly to deploy such a swarm of drones, but it would also be costly to break through that blockade.
Either way, it’s not reassuring that China is flexing its tech war muscles in this way, and in conjunction with China’s Internet cord-cutting capabilities, as Tom’s Hardware points out, the frowns of those potentially threatened may multiply.
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