I tend to think that the most important 'game changing' weapon system that the west has introduced in the Ukrainian theatre is the one that has gotten the least publicity - and that is starlink.
The largest advantage the west has is the vast network of isr - both commercial & military - that the west can concentrate & leverage in any situation.
Russian ECM seems to have neutralised much of it as regards to weapon system use - as you pointed out, blocking out GPS has crippled many advanced western systems.
But starlink distributed closed networks are a problem - allowing the US/NATO to still leverage the massive scale of the ISR networks.
Starlink seems to be the big winner out of all systems introduced - and I think it will be the most important military system for the west going forward (as everything in the west now seems to revolve around processing power and the sheer amount of data).
And very little has been written about it.
I would be very interested in reading a good article on it.
Here is a few that go into it a bit - but nothing on Ukraine:
Thanks for the insightful comment Ken, I agree completely. Starlink has been heavily underestimated in terms of just how crucial it is for AFU communications, it's possible that this war would have turned out very differently had it not been available.
I tend to think that the most important 'game changing' weapon system that the west has introduced in the Ukrainian theatre is the one that has gotten the least publicity - and that is starlink.
The largest advantage the west has is the vast network of isr - both commercial & military - that the west can concentrate & leverage in any situation.
Russian ECM seems to have neutralised much of it as regards to weapon system use - as you pointed out, blocking out GPS has crippled many advanced western systems.
But starlink distributed closed networks are a problem - allowing the US/NATO to still leverage the massive scale of the ISR networks.
Starlink seems to be the big winner out of all systems introduced - and I think it will be the most important military system for the west going forward (as everything in the west now seems to revolve around processing power and the sheer amount of data).
And very little has been written about it.
I would be very interested in reading a good article on it.
Here is a few that go into it a bit - but nothing on Ukraine:
https://maxpolyakov.com/hidden-military-potential-of-starlink/
https://interpret.csis.org/translations/the-u-s-starlink-project-and-its-implications-from-the-perspective-of-international-and-national-security/
https://lieber.westpoint.edu/can-starlink-satellites-be-lawfully-targeted/
Anyway - good read.
Thanks for the analysis.
Ken
Thanks for the insightful comment Ken, I agree completely. Starlink has been heavily underestimated in terms of just how crucial it is for AFU communications, it's possible that this war would have turned out very differently had it not been available.
In REAL war ALL satellites would be killed in short time, how good are western ladies in fighting without it?
Great to see the "Game Changer Rating" is back.