Chinese military deeply alarmed over Starlink’s dual-use capabilities

SpaceWar.com reports: “Beijing’s concerns echo criticisms of the South African-born billionaire’s satellite internet system by Russia. On Sunday, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin warned that Elon Musk would be held accountable for supplying Starlink internet terminals to neo-Nazi militants fighting in Ukraine.

SpaceX’s plans to increase the constellation of Starlink internet satellites from 12,000 to 42,000 ‘should put the international community on high alert,’ China Military Online, a news site affiliated with the Central Military Commission, the PRC’s top national defence organ, has warned.

Pointing to SpaceX’s use of Starlink to provide high-speed internet services to Ukraine amid Kiev’s conflict with Russia and the Donbass, the outlet pointed out that ‘in addition to supporting communication, Starlink, as experts [have] estimated, could also interact with UAVs and, using big data and facial recognition technology, might have already played a part in Ukraine’s military operations against Russia.’

China Military Online questioned Starlink’s lofty claims that it was a ‘civilian’ programme, pointing to strong ties with the US military going back years – starting with the fact that some of the satellite launch sites have been built directly inside the Vanderberg Air Force Base…”

The post Chinese military deeply alarmed over Starlink’s dual-use capabilities appeared first on JVIM.