Russia's Volna-Kupol-Garant electronic warfare system, designed to shield sites from Starlink-guided weapons, will join the country's air defence network, according to a military analyst.
Military expert Alexey Leonkov voiced the assessment in an interview with Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. He said the equipment serves to shield designated facilities and represents the start of a broader air defence integration.
Leonkov said coverage of an area of 20 to 25 square kilometres indicates that the Volna-Kupol-Garant is designed for point defence to protect specific facilities. However, he said this is only the first step toward creating a continuous air defence system across Russian territory.
The analyst suggested that the system is an opening move in countering Starlink and Starshield networks. He also predicted that new versions of the complex with an increased coverage area will appear soon.
Mobile antennas and recent upgrades
Earlier in November, the Russian military Telegram channel Voennaya Khronika reported that the Volna-Kupol-Garant had already undergone modernisation. Technicians can now place the antennas of the updated complex on small trailers, improving mobility and easing transport between operational sites.
Starlink, developed by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, operates thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit to deliver high-speed broadband internet. Modern militaries have integrated commercial satellite terminals across battlefields to coordinate ground units, relay aerial reconnaissance, and guide uncrewed attack drones toward targets.
SpaceX also developed Starshield, a dedicated satellite network built for government defence and intelligence agencies. Starshield provides military clients with secure communications, Earth observation capabilities, and dedicated payload hosting, expanding the role of low-Earth orbit constellations in active conflicts.
Electronic warfare in air defence
Electronic warfare systems counter these orbital assets by transmitting powerful radio signals that jam communications between satellites and ground receivers. Disrupting those connections can cause satellite-guided munitions and robotic aircraft to lose their coordinates, miss intended targets, or crash without the need to fire an interceptor missile.
Traditional air defence doctrine relies on radar installations and surface-to-air missile batteries to destroy incoming airborne threats. Integrating electronic jamming complexes like the Volna-Kupol-Garant into standard air defence formations enables military commanders to protect strategic facilities against drone swarms while conserving expensive surface-to-air missile stockpiles.
Leonkov indicated that the current point-defence system is only an initial step, adding that he expects updated versions with expanded coverage areas to follow as Russia seeks wider territorial protection against satellite-directed threats.
