Russia has expanded its use of anti-drone nets to protect submarines at a major naval base on the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles from Ukraine and the country’s arsenal of attack drones, according to new satellite imagery analyzed by Business Insider.
The new images, collected on Tuesday by the US spatial intelligence firm Vantor, show more than half a dozen submarines covered by anti-drone netting at the Rybachiy Nuclear Submarine Base on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.
Imagery from May shows only two submarines covered with netting at the base, which serves as the central hub for the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet and hosts nuclear-powered ballistic-missile and attack submarines.
Although Rybachiy lies more than 4,500 miles east of Ukraine, the anti-drone netting mirrors defenses Russia has deployed much closer to the war to shield Black Sea facilities and naval assets.
The appearance of these defenses so far from the conflict suggests Russia sees its vulnerability to drone attacks extending well beyond the immediate fighting, including to its Pacific Fleet.
Ukrainian forces have demonstrated that they can strike deep into Russia, launching drones at targets over 1,000 miles inside enemy territory.
Ukraine has also carried out remote attacks against targets at much greater distances by launching attack drones not from its own territory, but from inside Russia. In the June 2025 Operation Spiderweb, drones swarmed Russian air bases in the Arctic, Siberia, and even in the far east, near China’s northeastern border.
Russia’s defense ministry and its US embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the added defenses.
Vantor imagery from June shows that Russia has also equipped at least three submarines with counter-drone cages — which shield their conning towers — at the Novorossiysk naval base in southwestern Krasnodar Krai. This facility serves as the homeport for Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet and has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drone attacks.
Britain’s defense ministry said in an intelligence update on Tuesday that these cages were “applied as a preventive measure in response to Ukraine’s increased ability to strike targets further from the front line.”
Ukraine has used its exploding sea drones to attack Novorossiysk, and in response, Russia has tried to defend the base by placing large barriers in the water. Anti-drone cages represent a new effort to protect naval assets, primarily designed to counter aerial attacks.
Cage armor has become a common tactic on the battlefield. Early versions were added to tanks and other armored vehicles to provide additional protection against drones or shrapnel. It has since spread, much like the anti-drone netting.
Across Ukraine, soldiers have strung up netting to cover logistics and supply routes in an attempt to shield vehicles from drone strikes.
Russia has increasingly turned to anti-drone cages and netting to protect infrastructure and assets such as energy facilities, weapons production buildings, and, more recently, submarines.
Russian efforts come as Ukraine has significantly ramped up its long-range drone strikes inside Russia. These attacks have traditionally targeted energy and military facilities, though Kyiv has increasingly focused its efforts on Russian e-commerce warehouses.
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