Ukrainian army units fighting near the Russian border are asking for more of German defence company Helsing’s HX-2 strike drone precisely because it does not rely on SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, a defence industry source told Janes on 14 October 2026. The report, published on 16 October, lands in the same week President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in Brussels that Starlink speeds for Ukraine have risen but have not been returned to previous levels.
Key facts
- Demand for the HX-2 is growing among Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) units operating in areas where Starlink signals are unavailable, the industry source told Janes.
- The AFU has flown thousands of HX-2 missions since October 2025, according to the same source; Janes reported no exact figure or range.
- Helsing told Janes the HX-2 completed three weeks of testing with a 100% strike rate during the Sentinel Strike Challenge, part of the European Defence Agency’s (EDA) operational experimentation campaign EU OPEX.
- EU OPEX ran with the Portuguese Armed Forces at the Santa Margarida military camp from 21 September to 14 October, Janes reports.
- Zelenskyy, speaking in Brussels on 16 October: speeds have increased, but have not returned to what they were.
Why it matters
Taken together, this week’s Janes and UNITED24 Media reporting points to two kinds of drone on the same front line: those that need a satellite link and those built to avoid one. UNITED24’s account has Ukraine’s Starlink-linked interceptor drones and logistics flights degrading within hours of a change made on SpaceX’s side; the Janes account has units near the Russian border choosing a munition that Russian jamming of Starlink cannot reach. On the evidence of both reports, the dependency is not uniform across Ukraine’s drone fleet.
Why units want a Starlink-free drone
The industry source told Janes that AFU end-users praise the HX-2 for hitting targets near Donetsk City that other drones cannot reach because of Russian jamming of Starlink in that area. The source summed up the appeal in one line quoted by Janes: the HX-2 is “Starlink-free and therefore the end-user has complete control.”
Coverage inside Russia is a separate limit. Janes notes SpaceX said in a social media post on 8 February 2024 that Starlink is not active in Russia. In 2026, Ukrainian officials sought expanded Starlink connectivity inside Russia to support strikes on Russian ballistic-missile launchers, and in September Finnish President Alexander Stubb urged SpaceX owner Elon Musk to extend coverage for such operations, according to Janes.
What the EU testing showed
A Helsing representative told Janes the Sentinel Strike Challenge testing included strikes against moving targets and was conducted under global navigation satellite system (GNSS) jamming that produced full GNSS denial. The representative said that denial continued during the approach to the target and at the target itself.
Where Starlink stands in Ukraine
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s partners had reported signals from the White House about restoring higher-speed capability, UNITED24 Media reports. He said the service was never switched off; instead its effective speed limit was cut sharply, which stopped some drones holding a satellite link while chasing fast targets.
The figures he gave: Russian jet-powered Shahed-type drones flying at more than 400 kilometres per hour, against a reduced speed of 78 km/h on the Ukrainian side. UNITED24 Media converts those to more than 249 mph and about 48 mph. Zelenskyy said that when the speed was cut, Ukraine failed to shoot down a number of those drones.
He said the limits also made some mid-range strike missions against Russian military targets in occupied Ukrainian territory impossible, and hit logistics: units fly Starlink-connected drones to deliver food and water to troops holding positions for long periods. Germany, which Zelenskyy’s account says finances part of the satellite communications equipment Ukraine uses, has called for the speed restrictions to be lifted.
Europe’s response, and its gaps
TRT World reports that EU leaders at the Brussels summit pledged to help Ukraine cut its dependence on US-owned satellite communications while admitting they cannot do it quickly. The disagreement in the room was less about the goal than the timetable.
On the cautious side, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Starlink is genuinely necessary for Ukraine and that Europe has no ready substitute for Starlink in the short term, adding that the EDA has identified critical capabilities the bloc lacks and that those gaps must be closed as soon as possible. Others argued the capacity partly exists already: Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said Starlink is the key for Ukraine to fight back and that Europe does have such capability, but not enough of it, and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten said he discussed with Macron on Thursday how European countries could supply more of these services soon.
What the bloc actually put on the table was narrower than either position. French President Emmanuel Macron pointed to satellite imagery and early-warning systems rather than connectivity, and EU spokesperson Thomas Regnier said member states pool satellite communications capacity through GOVSATCOM, a programme the bloc wants to include Ukraine in fully.
Who is responsible
The lines of blame remain contested. TRT World reports that US President Donald Trump denied ordering a temporary disruption of Starlink service for Ukraine’s military, while Musk said this week that any disruption was the responsibility of the US government rather than SpaceX. TRT World also notes Ukraine uses Starshield, SpaceX’s military tier, for battlefield communications, mid-range strikes on Russian-controlled territory and interceptor drones, alongside the civilian Starlink system, which it does not use for offensive operations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is Helsing’s HX-2?
Helsing is a German defence company, and Janes describes the HX-2 as a strike unmanned aerial vehicle, pictured by the company as a loitering munition ready for launch at night. A defence industry source told Janes the system is Starlink-free, leaving control with the end user.
Does Ukraine use Starlink for strikes on Russian territory?
No. Zelenskyy told a Brussels briefing on 16 October that Ukraine does not use Starlink for attacks or retaliatory strikes on Russian Federation territory, according to UNITED24 Media. He said Ukraine had asked SpaceX and the White House to open that capability, which remains unavailable.
When will the EU’s own satellite network be ready?
The EU network intended to rival Starlink is called IRIS², with launches planned for 2029 and full operations targeted for 2030, TRT World reports. In the meantime, the bloc plans to bring commercial services into its GOVSATCOM pooling programme early next year to help meet military needs.
Could Eutelsat’s OneWeb cover for Starlink in Ukraine?
France’s Eutelsat already supplies satellite communications to Ukraine through OneWeb, but its 648-satellite constellation is far smaller than Starlink’s network of more than 10,000, according to TRT World. The outlet cites specialist publication Via Satellite saying OneWeb cannot support drone and ground robot operations because of limited capacity and a lack of compact terminals.
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