US military satellites broadcast Russian radio messages

t-online US military satellites broadcast Russian radio messages Thomas Wanhoff • 52 minutes • 2 minutes reading time Open communication Russian radio messages can be heard on US military satellites A Ukrainian soldier holds a radio. Russian radio messages have apparently been broadcast via US military satellites. Russian troops are using unsecured US military satellites for their communications in the Ukraine war. They can be listened to on the Internet. Russian armed forces are apparently using unsecured US military satellites for their communications in the war against Ukraine. These satellites, known as UHF Follow-On (UFO), were launched into space between 1993 and 2003 to make it easier for US armed forces to communicate worldwide. They operate in the UHF spectrum, which is also used by amateur radio operators, and serve as simple radio amplifiers. Since these satellites allow unencrypted transmissions, non-military users, including Russian troops, have been able to use them for their communications. The YouTube channel "saveitforparts" reports that unencrypted Russian radio conversations have been received via WebSDR streams for some time. WebSDR (Software Defined Radio) is a technology that makes it possible to receive and evaluate radio signals from different frequency ranges over the Internet in real time. "You can hear Russian soldiers complaining about their situation and which countries they want to conquer," reports Gabe Emerson, creator of "saveitforparts," "as well as complaints about the Ukrainian population." Russian propaganda and music can be heard on other frequencies. There have also been attempts to jam Russian radio signals. He suspects that Russian soldiers are using the US satellites because their own are only functioning to a limited extent. This approach is reminiscent of previous cases in which Russian soldiers used alternative means of communication. For example, they used the Discord platform via Starlink before the Russian command blocked access to Discord. There have also been reports of Russian soldiers using Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite internet. Officially, Russia has blocked the network, but it is available in Ukraine. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Russian soldiers are said to have gained access there via intermediaries.