China unveils anti-drone system, radar that could detect Starlink

At a major weapons exhibition in China, the country’s top missile maker unveiled an all-round anti-drone system. Developer China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation (Casic) said the anti-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system as a full skill set of “detection, reconnaissance, interference, control, interception and assessment” against all types of UAVs.

“The anti-UAV system … can effectively achieve the efficient and coordinated use of multiple types of detection equipment and interception weapons … and forms a comprehensive defense capability against all types of UAV targets ‘both near and far, high and low, with both hard and soft kill’,” Casic said. It added the anti-drone system provides a “comprehensive solution” to the key difficulties of countering UAVs, including UAVs that are “too difficult to detect, too small to intercept and too costly to use air defense weapons”.

According to China’s largest missile maker, the anti-drone system was inspired by recent global conflicts, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, where various drone types have been widely used.

In addition to drones, Ukraine has utilized Starlink to keep Ukrainians informed and helped soldiers stay connected using its high-speed broadband internet service. Starlink is a series of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites owned and managed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX aerospace company.

Also at the weapons exhibition, China has unveiled the SLC-18 P band active phased array radar. The radar is primarily designed for space target surveillance, and analysts believe it can target LEO satellites. The radar quickly caught the attention of Chinese internet users on the Chinese microblogging website Weibo. Several users labeled it as an Anti-Starlink radar.

Chinese military strategists are increasingly concerned about Starlink, fearing that the system could get in the way of a potential invasion of Taiwan. During an invasion, China may disable GPS to impair Taiwanese navigation capabilities. However, under this scenario, Starlink satellites could locate any spot on the battlefield with an accuracy of eight meters.

South China Morning Post and The Eurasian Times contributed to this report.