Russian Navy Covers Nuclear Submarines With Anti-Drone Nets To Protect From Ukrainian Drones

The Russian Navy has covered its Borei-Class ballistic missile submarines with drone protection nets to shield them from Ukrainian drone attacks, satellite images have confirmed.

The submarines are stationed at Rybachiy, which is one of the naval bases of the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet, located 7400 km east of Ukraine on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Borei-class submarines have been an integral part of the Russian naval fleet since they conduct long-duration deterrence patrols in the Pacific Ocean and carry 16 RSM-56 Bulava ballistic missiles (SLBMs).

Hence, protecting them with cheap Ukrainian drones is extremely important, and for this purpose, the Russian navy has used a cage armour, similar to the one used on battle tanks employed in Ukraine.

These nets offer protection against slow-moving First Person View (FPV) quadcopter drones, which carry warheads similar to the ones onboard the Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs).

Somewhat similar anti-drone metallic nets were seen on the submarines of the Black Sea Fleet and the submarines of the Baltic and the North Sea Fleet, on the coast of the Barents Sea.

These have also been seen on the Russian surface vessels, especially those operating in the Black Sea.

These nets lie above the submarine’s sail, offering hatch protection since this region leads into the vessel’s control room.

They were designed to safeguard submarines docked at ports, especially from surprise attacks by drones launched from near the base, like the ones in Operation Spiderweb, which occurred on June 1, 2025.

In this operation, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) carried out a coordinated drone strike at 4 strategic air bases situated at Olenya, Diaghilevo, Belaya, and Ivanovo using small quadcopter FPV drones.

They were smuggled into Moscow and launched from cargo trucks, and they hit over 40 military aircraft.

Navies around the world are adopting unmanned systems to shield themselves from enemy attacks as the geopolitical situation remains tense.

In the near future, equipment such as drone protection meshes will become commonplace, given the changing nature of naval warfare and increasing conflicts across the world.