The mechanism described by Kyiv is precise. The terminal is not presented as permanently out of service: it stops transmitting as soon as movement exceeds 160 km/h. The interceptor, deprived of the signal at that speed, no longer has the link required to engage a target capable of traveling from 300 to 1,000 km/h.
Starshield terminals currently stop transmitting beyond a travel speed of 160 km/h, Kyiv says. The same phenomenon had already been observed in October. It is recurring, with the same effects on the devices that need this signal to carry out their mission.
The stakes are direct for defense against drones. Interceptors no longer receive a signal when they travel at a speed above 160 km/h. The link they depend on is therefore interrupted in the very phase when pursuit requires speed.
This cutoff in practice prevents them from intercepting Russian jet-powered drones. These aircraft can reach between 300 and 1,000 km/h, a speed far above the threshold at which Starshield terminals stop transmitting.
In October, Ukraine had denounced the consequences of these disruptions for air defense. The return of the same 160 km/h threshold places this constraint back on the interceptors tasked with intercepting Russian jet-powered drones, according to Kyiv.