Swedish firm offers Ukraine satellite alternative - that Elon Musk cannot 'turn off'

Swedish tech firm TERASi has designed RU1 - a new lightweight, rapidly deployable and secure radio.

The device is a pocket-sized metal unit that takes in data, boosts the signal, and transmits it through the air. Its compact design makes it easy to deploy quickly in the field.

With this product, Ukraine could directly own and control more of its communications infrastructure, reducing reliance on third parties.

James Campion, TERASi’s Co-founder and CEO, said: "This is a re-examination of how defence forces manage their data and their connectivity.

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"It’s a shift from relying on third parties to taking a step back and say 'we should own everything and control everything'.

"That’s the fundamental shift happening."

After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Elon Musk stepped in to supply Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service.

The network soon became vital, keeping both military and civilian systems online despite Russia’s sustained bombardment.

In September of that year, Musk ordered Starlink coverage cut during Ukraine’s counteroffensive in Kherson.

This decision that disrupted surveillance drones, artillery targeting and troop coordination, according to a Reuters investigation. It remains unclear why this action was taken.

Months later, he refused a request to extend the service near Crimea for a planned naval drone attack.

Musk was also reportedly asked by Vladimir Putin to restrict coverage over Taiwan, at the request of China’s Xi Jinping, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Dr Melanie Garson, International Security & Conflict Resolution Professor at UCL, said there were strategic concerns about Ukraine’s heavy reliance on Elon Musk’s Starlink system.

"The problem is that Starlink still has the largest constellation available that gives the most coverage," she said.

"But you have to think about how much reliance you’re putting on it, and whether it has the resilience for the operational capability you need."

For Garson argued that alternatives are essential.

"You never want to have single points of failure. Diversification and having backups are always a good thing, particularly in a conflict where communications are critical infrastructure."

TERASi's new RU1 projects data in a laser-like beam. By pointing two units at each other, users can create a secure wireless link, making interception or interference far more difficult.

The company stresses that it is not selling a subscription service but hardware. Customers buy the equipment outright, giving them full control and ownership of their infrastructure.

The kit is lightweight, making it both tactical and strategically valuable, particularly in remote areas where Ukraine currently relies heavily on Starlink.

"Today wireless communications is really critical infrastructure. Everything is connected, particularly in a wartime scenario. You need to keep things connected," Mr Campion said.

"The major issue is that we’ve now outsourced these capabilities to foreign third parties that can control them at will."

TERASI have the first units of the RU1 ready evaluation by defence forces. They plan to get the tech "into the hands of the end users as quickly as possible".

Mr Campion said the design came to him after reading about radio devices fixed to drone.

"It was one of those light bulb moments.

"I suddenly sat there and thought, why didn’t we think of that before?"

While the war has made Ukraine an immediate focus for the firm, the technology is also attracting interest from defence forces elsewhere. The ability to create ad hoc, secure communications networks on the ground is extremely attractive for militaries worldwide.

Beyond defence, the same approach could be applied to industrial and emergency settings. Mining operations, disaster zones and wildfire-hit regions, such as those seen this summer in Spain and Portugal, could all benefit from rapidly deployed networks when traditional infrastructure is destroyed.

TERASi was founded five years ago as a spin-off from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. The company was created by three PhD students researching communications devices.

Starlink and SpaceX were contacted by LBC for comment.