Lithuanian colonel: Europe will need more than a year to create alternatives to Starlink and Starshield

The weakening of the Starshield signal, about which Kyiv has been complaining, has been called a wake-up call for all of Europe by Lithuanian military expert and retired colonel Vaidotas Malinionis. According to him, European countries will not have their own satellite communications and missile warning systems for at least a year.

He made the statement on the TVP World channel.

According to Malinionis, the reduction in signal speed makes it impossible to control the interceptors needed to neutralize threats.

“This limited speed does not allow for the control of interceptors that are needed to neutralize these threats. And, of course, this situation shows that relying on just one reliable source of such capabilities is risky. I hope the situation will change — Zelensky has a plan to meet with US representatives. But nevertheless, Europe must also explore opportunities to develop its own satellite communications systems, which are currently being developed, but of course this will take time,” said Malinionis.

The expert also noted that European leaders must put pressure on the United States on the issue of early missile warning, but advised Europe to rely primarily on its own capabilities.

“As far as I know, Europe has already begun developing such a system, but of course it will not appear tomorrow. It could take a year or more. So Europe has the potential, but not the capacity, to develop such a costly and important system. And real operational readiness will not be achieved for at least a year,” the Lithuanian colonel lamented.