Recent precision strikes by Russian reactive UAVs against Kyiv have demonstrated a qualitative change in the way these weapons are being used. The enemy is moving from pre-programmed flight routes toward real-time flight correction.

The main factor behind this change is the deployment and initial combat use of Russia’s own low-Earth-orbit broadband satellite communications constellation, Rassvet, developed by Bureau 1440. The orbital infrastructure provides extended windows of two-way communications directly over Ukrainian territory.

Current State of the Rassvet Constellation

A total of 38 spacecraft have been launched under the Rassvet program:

• 6 experimental satellites, Rassvet-1 and Rassvet-2, launched in 2023–2024;
• 32 serial RASSVET-3 satellites, launched in two batches in 2026: 16 on March 23 and another 16 on July 19.

The current constellation consists of:

• 1 spacecraft lost. RASSVET-3 No. 4 (NORAD 68363) failed to raise its orbit after the March launch and re-entered the atmosphere on June 6, 2026, from an orbit of 288 × 324 km;
• 31 serial spacecraft remaining in orbit;
• 13 operational satellites forming the current core of the constellation.

Thirteen of the first 16 satellites completed orbital raising and stabilized at approximately 508–513 km, with an inclination of about 82.3 degrees and an orbital period of approximately 94.8–94.9 minutes. They have formed a single orbital chain. Two other satellites remain at lower altitudes, including No. 14 at approximately 346–362 km.

The second batch of 16 satellites launched on July 19 is still undergoing orbital deployment at altitudes of 268–442 km and has not yet entered the stable operational configuration.

Communication Windows Over Ukraine

Each operational satellite completes approximately 15 orbits around Earth per day.

The 13-satellite operational chain passes through the radio-visibility zone over Ukraine approximately four times a day. Two or three of these four passes have an elevation angle sufficient to establish a stable high-speed communications link.

Because the satellites move sequentially, handing the communications session from one spacecraft to the next, a complete passage of the formation can create an access corridor lasting approximately 60–90 minutes.

This means russia already has at least two daily windows of high-quality satellite communications lasting more than one hour each over Ukrainian territory.

Combat Use Over Ukraine

According to information from Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence, published by Janes, russian forces have already used the first Rassvet group to provide satellite communications over Ukraine for several consecutive hours.

The constellation’s main functions include:

• transmitting telemetry and data in real time;
• providing command and control for reconnaissance and strike UAVs.

Why This Has Increased Strike Accuracy

The use of LEO satellite communications changes the command-and-control architecture of reactive UAVs, including high-speed variants of the Geran/Shahed family.

Previously, a UAV operating primarily according to pre-programmed coordinates was more predictable for air defence and more vulnerable to electronic warfare. A satellite communications link introduces a different model.

The operator-to-satellite-to-UAV command chain works through space and does not require ground-based repeaters or mesh networks.

During a satellite pass over the Kyiv region, an operator can receive updated coordinates in real time, change the target point shortly before impact, and adjust the UAV’s route in response to detected air-defence or electronic-warfare zones.

The combination of satellite-enabled correction and the reduced flight time of reactive UAVs also limits the time available for Ukrainian air defence to respond.

What Comes Next

The key indicator of Rassvet’s operational capability is not the total number of satellites launched, but the 13 spacecraft currently forming its functional core.

russia has not yet established continuous 24-hour coverage. However, it already has regular communication corridors lasting about an hour or more, which can be incorporated into the timing of reactive UAV launches against targets in Kyiv.

As the second batch of 16 RASSVET-3 satellites reaches its planned operational altitude of around 510 km, the intervals between communications sessions are expected to decrease. This would move russia closer to continuous satellite-enabled command and control of strike UAVs.