Russia is building out Rassvet, its Starlink-style military communications network, and Germany wants the ability to switch such links off from the ground. Defense Express reported September 7 that the Bundeswehr handed the search to DLR, the national space agency, which is mapping which electronic warfare tools on the market could reach German hands within a few years.
The project has not advanced past market research. A request for information on the EU’s TED procurement portal asks industry to cover two jobs: drowning out links from spacecraft in low, medium and geostationary orbits, and broadcasting counterfeit coordinates that trick satnav receivers.
The documents name no constellations. Defense Express noted the requirements line up with Russian systems, including GLONASS navigation and Rassvet itself. Berlin wants an initial capability by 2029, a complete system covering a brigade’s area of responsibility within about three and a half years, and wider Bundeswehr deployment targeted around 2035. Panzerbrigade 45, the brigade Germany is permanently stationing in Lithuania, serves as the reference formation for sizing the coverage.
Suppliers must also show their systems will not interfere with German communications and navigation, prove they can scale to mass production, and prefer designs free of US-controlled ITAR parts. The move lands as Russia keeps jamming GPS across Europe, including with its Tobol system in Kaliningrad, and as allies search for ways to blunt that electronic attack.
