The Poor Man’s Starlink: How russia Assembled a Flying Radio Backbone Licensed in Shenzhen
· 11 min
Episode The Poor Man’s Starlink: How russia Assembled a Flying Radio Backbone Licensed in Shenzhen
Bottom Line: A single Chinese mesh modem, the XK-F358 by Xingkai Tech, has spread across russian strike drones over a year, from the Gerbera to the Shahed and Molniya, and on July 23 Molniyas were first flown through a Gerbera after a licensing restriction fell. The cheap decoy thus becomes a flying relay. This self-healing network, however, can be cut at its ground masts and bridge nodes, its monoculture is a weakness, and its switch sits in Shenzhen.
The Poor Man’s Starlink: How russia Assembled a Flying Radio Backbone Licensed in Shenzhen By Giorgio Provinciali and Alla Perdei · 25 July 2026 · terykon.com
Narrated by an AI-generated voice. Text by Giorgio Provinciali and Alla Perdei (Terykon).
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