Russian-Chinese collaboration on 5G and satellite technologies could give Russia an advantage on the battlefield in Ukraine and could feasibly be applied in other theaters, including a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a report by the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security (RUSI) published on Friday said.
Russia and China have already tested the use of shared 5G technology to control uncrewed dump trucks at a Russian mine, and have tested the integration of their respective navigation systems, Russia’s GLONASS and China’s BeiDou, the report said.
“In Ukraine, GLONASS has already enabled Russian missile and drone strikes via satellite correction and supported communications between Russian troops,” the report said, adding that “Russia could exploit BeiDou’s ability to facilitate the navigation and tracking of autonomous
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vehicles for strategic attacks with missiles and drones.”
Russia has already entered into a number of agreements with China on the development of 5G, with Russia’s MTS and Beeline signing deals with China’s Huawei, the report said. Huawei and MTS set data-transfer speed records in 2021 after they launched commercial 5G services in Moscow, while Huawei and Beeline collaborated to facilitate remote surgical operations performed by Russia’s Global Medical System Hospital, it said.
On the battlefield, 5G would facilitate enhanced tracking of military objects, faster transferring of soldiers’ biometrics or high-resolution drone images, and enhanced communications, including between autonomous vehicles, it said, adding that China could help Russia meet its needs with 5G.
China’s BeiDou would also be helpful to Russia on the battlefield, as Russia had agreed for China to build a BeiDou monitoring system in the Russian town of Obninsk, which is near Ukraine, it said.
“Russia has repeatedly tested GLONASS/BeiDou compatibility on Russian transport routes along the Belt and Road corridor,” it said. “Tentative results from 2017 and 2018 claimed improved satellite navigation in 100% of monitored cases.”
The improved satellite data could be used by Russia in Ukraine to collect battlefield imagery, weather and terrain data, and to improve logistics management, track troop movements, and increase the accuracy of identifying and destroying ground targets, it said.
RUSI research analyst and co-author of the report Jack Crawford said that although cooperation between China and Russia has not always been smooth sailing, Russia has gained an advantage in its war efforts through working with China.
Cooperation between the countries would also bolster China’s 5G and satellite capabilities, which are of great significance to its potential plans for military aggression toward Taiwan, he said.
Broadly speaking, Russia’s willingness to cooperate with China, Iran and North Korea to continue its invasion of Ukraine also means that a deeper rift between these governments and the West is beginning to appear, and it is increasingly difficult to bridge, the authors said.
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