Kyiv wants to do without Starlink. The HiSKY terminals and Italy’s role

Ukrainian drones have begun to appear in Russian airspace, no longer guided by Starlink or standard mobile networks, but by a new satellite antenna called SmartLITE Sirius 16x16 Ku, manufactured by an Israeli company called HiSKY. The news has begun to circulate on Russian channels; Kyiv has not confirmed it, but if true, it could form part of Ukraine’s strategy to break free from Starlink and the political instability associated with Elon Musk and Donald Trump. The HiSKY terminal is far less capable than Starlink: some estimates suggest download speeds over a hundred times slower than those achieved with Musk’s network, but that is certainly not the advantage. The advantage is that these antennas do not depend on Musk.

For several months now, Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory have intensified. Ukraine is targeting refineries and fuel depots in particular, in order to weaken the supply chain and make Russians feel the pinch of rising prices. However, to travel hundreds of kilometres beyond the border, Ukrainian drones require guidance, which Starlink satellites cannot provide – at least not once they enter Russian territory, where the service is disabled by SpaceX’s decision. To guide them to their targets, a combination of pre-programmed routes, autonomous guidance based on artificial intelligence and pre-loaded maps, or mobile phone signals where available, is used. HiSKY’s new antennas would enable this to be done more effectively.

The Israeli company was founded in 2015 with the aim of producing Internet of Things (IoT) terminals for civilian use, but in recent years it has shifted its focus to predominantly military applications. It has a subsidiary in London and, in 2023, through a partnership with the Italian subsidiary of Jabil, it began production of a mini version of these terminals at the Marcianise plant, near Caserta. The site was then transferred in August 2025 to Tme Assembly Engineering, with Invitalia set to join the venture. It is not yet clear whether HiSKY terminals are still being produced there and subsequently sent to Ukraine. Italian defence sources have confirmed to Il Foglio that Italy is working on this collaboration.

The ground station is just one piece of the jigsaw: for these antennas to work, they need satellites, and that is where the real battle is being fought. SpaceX is able to cut off the signal to its own antennas precisely because it owns and controls the satellites that make them work, and this power has been used on several occasions to blackmail the Ukrainians. The most recent instance occurred on 14 October, when Starshield (Starlink’s ‘military package’) was restricted and connections were blocked for any object moving at speeds exceeding 160 km/h, rendering faster drones ineffective, as well as various air defence systems. The blame game between Musk and the U.S. government persisted for some time, until service appears to have been restored. Trump, however, has nevertheless called for a halt to attacks on Russian refineries, which have in fact resumed in recent days – perhaps using HiSKY’s new devices. These terminals would allow Ukrainian drones to link up with commercial satellites, which are thought to be Intelsat’s (now part of the Luxembourg-based SES group) or those of Hispasat, Hughes or the Israeli firm Spacecom – all partners that HiSKY had previously confirmed, stating that one of the advantages of their antennas was precisely the ability to switch from one commercial signal to another when the signal deteriorated (i.e. when it was disrupted).

The Ukrainians are seeking a way to fly their drones into Russian territory whilst also finding a way to reduce their reliance on Starlink, which remains the most effective and powerful network but is also the most politically unstable. And Italy could also play a role in this endeavour.