Russian Submarines Reinforced With Anti-Drone 'Cope Cages,' Photos Suggest

A Russian submarine has been fitted with an armor screen as additional protection against the threat posed by Ukrainian drone attacks, it has been reported.

A "cope cage," or a sheet of improvised armor, is a regular feature for tanks and other armored vehicles on the battlefield, but the protective measure has also been spotted on the conning tower of the Delta-IV class nuclear ballistic missile submarine Tula, which was shown on Russian television.

Military publication The War Zone said it appeared to be the first time such protection had been installed on a naval vessel of any kind, as Russia looks to protect its equipment from the threat posed by Ukrainian drones.

The outlet noted that the footage showed the vessel docked across from the Vepr, a Project 971U nuclear attack submarine, although it had no screen on top of its conning tower.

The submarine Tula is a Delfin class boat assigned to the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet and is based in Gadzhiyevo in the country's far northern Murmansk region.

With a submerged displacement of around 15,500 tons it can be loaded with up to 16 R-29RMU Sineva submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

The War Zone said that the screen's design on the vessel was in keeping with add-on protection that has become a trademark of Russian vehicles fighting in Ukraine, which was even displayed at the Army-2023 defense exhibition held outside Moscow.

Newsweek contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.

Recent images from the Israeli army's mobilization following the Hamas attacks in southern Israel have also depicted growing numbers of IDF Merkava tanks with cope cages attached to them.

While drones are an integral part of Ukraine's fight against Moscow's aggression on the battlefield, there has been a spike in air attacks on facilities deep within Russian territory, although Kyiv often doesn't claim responsibility for them.

Fuel depots and oil refineries across a wide area of Russia have been key targets and recent weeks have seen strikes in the southern Krasnodar region, the Rostov region by the Ukrainian border as well as near St. Petersburg.

Russian media reported on Wednesday that the country's energy ministry was working with the National Guard—Rosgvardiya—to toughen up protection for refineries using missile defense systems.

Russia regularly uses drones to attack infrastructure within Ukraine. On Wednesday, Russian forces conducted 56 separate attacks on Sumy oblast throughout the day, injuring two people, according to the regional military administration. As well as drones, mortar, artillery and rockets were used in the strikes.

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