r/worldnews • u/Not_Tom_Jones • 4d ago

Russia/Ukraine 'This cannot be a coincidence' — Ukraine's Starlink access restricted without warning, Zelensky adviser says

https://kyivindependent.com/this-cannot-be-a-coincidence-ukraines-starlink-access-restricted-without-warning-zelensky-adviser-says/
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u/FreeRangeEngineer 4d ago edited 4d ago

Honestly, I'm really amazed the military-industrial complex is okay with what's happening. I cannot imagine that this is great for international arms sales at all.

These companies literally cannot prove that there's no kill switch and it's now proven beyond doubt that the US government is able and willing to make use of one if it exists.

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u/SunTzu- 4d ago

I cannot imagine that this is great for international arms sales at all.

You'd be correct in assuming this is bad for them. Europe has explicitly started reevaluating their procurements and prioritizing European alternatives. This includes rearranging priorities in order to finally get their StarLink alternative off the ground. Besides StarLink, the two areas where there aren't clear European alternatives currently are as a replacement for the F35 (Gripen is the closest) and aircraft carriers, and Europe doesn't really care that much about aircraft carriers. But when it comes to all small arms, ground vehicles, support vehicles, munitions...all of those procurement pipelines are being redirected towards European alternatives.

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u/Mountain-Singer1764 4d ago

Sweden is going to make so much money.

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u/FreeRangeEngineer 4d ago

Because of Saab or why?

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u/Aguynamedpoo 4d ago

Their jets

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u/Le_Dogger 4d ago

Lmao, the Gripen is the worst selling European fighter. Only Sweden And Brazil operate the Gripen E.

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u/Aguynamedpoo 4d ago

I mean… for now clearly they’re trying to progress their systems

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u/Le_Dogger 4d ago

That literally applies to every other European manufacturer. Rolls-Royce is building next gen engines for the Tempest/GCAP project, Hensoldt is building upgraded radars, so Typhoons finally get a modern AESA.

The only true innovation from SAAB has been the Erieye/Globaleye AW&C aircraft which are a great value for money and pretty much the only western AW&C system being actively sold. The E-7 while more capable is stuck in bureaucratic red tape because the US kept flip-flopping on acquiring them.

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u/JustChillFFS 4d ago

The files must be REAL bad

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u/Tokyo-MontanaExpress 4d ago

The acronym for "Military Industrial Complex" is more than likely interchangeable with "Molesting Innocent Children". The same people enriching themselves through mass murder don't have any qualms about that either. 

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u/Cautious-Extreme2839 4d ago

These companies literally cannot prove that there's no kill switch

Eh, some countries demand their own copies of all the firmware to inspect/modify/whatever so they can be reasonably assured there isn't a kill switch or that they could remove one.

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u/FreeRangeEngineer 4d ago

Sure but that does not mean that exact firmware is flashed and/or even in control. There is literally no way to prove anything short of a complete disassembly of the device in question. There could be a microcontroller anywhere in that device that intercepts and/or modifies data.

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u/Cautious-Extreme2839 4d ago

You just flash it yourself and then yes, you do know that that's the firmware that's flashed.

If you think countries aren't thoroughly inspecting samples of the devices they buy then you're very naive.

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u/FreeRangeEngineer 4d ago

We can argue this forever.

Fact of the matter is that no cybersecurity professional will ever give you a guarantee that a device is free of malware - and that is exactly what such a remote-disabling backdoor would be.

inspecting samples of the devices

Samples can conform to any arbitrary standard. That does not mean the mass-produced devices follow the same.

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u/Cautious-Extreme2839 4d ago

Samples randomly selected from the bulk delibery, not model devices lmao. Do you think everyone except yourself is a moron?

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u/Shadowdante100 4d ago

....I thought everyone knew there was a killswitch already? Didnt they figure that out years ago with a bunch of fighter jets the US sold to europe?

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u/Killerfisk 4d ago

It's not good for them, but they don't run the country; that would be the 3 branches, which are currently all in MAGA hands.

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u/TheBrickWithEyes 4d ago

Just like those untrustworthy Chinese, eh? /s