Asger Risom
With more than 10,000 satellites already in orbit, the network’s resilience has become a strategic concern for Beijing, which fears it could provide opponents with uninterrupted communications.
China is assessing how Elon Musk’s Starlink constellation could shape a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait. With more than 10,000 satellites already in orbit, the network’s resilience has become a strategic concern for Beijing, which fears it could provide opponents with uninterrupted communications.
A moving target
Starlink differs from most satellite-internet systems because connections constantly shift between satellites instead of relying on a fixed point. That redundancy makes it harder to disrupt the service with conventional jamming or signal-blocking methods.
Chinese analysts worry that, in a military scenario, this resilience could give Taiwan and its allies a major tactical advantage. According to elEconomista, China has been exploring potential ways to counter the network should conflict erupt.
A theoretical drone swarm
Researchers cited by the publication argue that the only plausible option would involve deploying nearly 1,000 drones into orbit. Acting in a coordinated “swarm,” they would generate synchronized interference to overwhelm Starlink’s coverage and disrupt connectivity across the theatre.
The concept envisions the drones forming a continuous jamming layer. However, the proposal remains strictly theoretical. China cannot, at present, be sure the tactic would work, and the technical challenges would be immense. Synchronizing such a large fleet in space and maintaining stable interference patterns would require capabilities China has not yet demonstrated.
Practical and financial barriers
Beyond engineering complexity, the financial costs of building, launching, and controlling such a swarm would be enormous. Analysts emphasize that even if China attempted it, the result might still fail to meaningfully degrade Starlink’s service.
The difficulty stems from the network’s design. Its thousands of satellites operate in low Earth orbit, constantly moving and handing off connections. That motion limits the effectiveness of targeted attacks and raises the threshold for any disruption effort.
A growing strategic concern
For these reasons, Chinese defence researchers view the Starlink expansion with caution. The system’s scale and redundancy create what they describe as a new category of strategic risk—one that complicates traditional approaches to information control during wartime.
As Starlink continues to grow, the questions raised in Beijing underscore a broader shift: satellite-internet networks are no longer just commercial infrastructure. In the eyes of military planners, they have become potential assets—or liabilities—on future battlefields.
Sources: elEconomista
