May 12, 2024, 3:01 pm
When you fight a war against a backdrop of shortages, emerging threats and Slavic ingenuity, perhaps it’s not surprising that you end up with a bunch of systems being used that aren’t exactly factory standard.
One of the first images of the Russian invasion were tanks equipped with add-on overhead cages, but in 2024 the most extreme examples of anti-drone protection now include vehicles with entire structures built over them to provide near all round protection.
In this episode, I look at vehicle modification in Ukraine, examine some of the main classes of modification and ad-hoc vehicles we’ve seen and ask why they exist, and what sort of military value they might have.
Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/PerunAU
Relevant Reading/sourcing (incomplete due to late release):
CBO – Technical Challenges of the U.S. Army’s Ground Combat Vehicle Program
https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA591460.pdf
Special thanks to the Armourer’s bench for their work tracking individual turtle tanks in Ukraine
https://www.youtube.com/@TheArmourersBench
Likewise thanks to Chris at Task and Purpose for discussing modifications for vehicles in the US Army
https://www.youtube.com/ @Taskandpurpose
Julien Potin – Finabel – Understanding Cope Cages: From Origins to Standardisation
As a throwback – RUSI comment on cages in 2022
https://www.rusi.org/news-and-comment/in-the-news/russian-tanks-ukraine-are-sprouting-cages
Attribution of Ukrainian MT-LB 100mm modifications to a unit level effort
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/08/13/7363131/
Russia showing off drone cage options at Army 2023
https://www.twz.com/cope-cages-go-mainstream-at-russias-arms-bazaar
Reporting on various modified or ad-hoc vehicles
https://www.kyivpost.com/analysis/22054
https://en.topwar.ru/212469-specoperacija-porozhdaet-monstrov-obzor-nashih-mt-lb-s-korabelnymi-artillerijskimi-ustanovkami.html
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/14/nato-allies-must-do-more-ukraine-running-out-of-ammunition-stoltenberg
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/12/10/congratulations-russia-youve-invented-an-even-more-dangerous-self-exploding-van/?sh=3d2f464d4f10
https://www.businessinsider.com/video-shows-russia-tank-topped-with-ridiculously-tall-cage-2023-10
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/09/04/the-russians-bolted-1950s-naval-guns-to-armored-tractors-and-produced-nearly-useless-combat-vehicles/?sh=1e9e1b328464
https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/russian-tanks-in-ukraine-are-sprouting-cages/21808191
https://www.rferl.org/a/makeshift-armor-ukraine-war-invasion-mad-max/32369222.html
Israeli tanks with cope cages
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/10/16/israel-tanks-installed-cope-cages-drone-bomb-defence/
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a45561784/israel-cope-cage-armor/
https://www.twz.com/israeli-merkava-tanks-get-improved-anti-drone-magnet-bomb-defenses
Kazakh army showing off a tank with a cope cage
The image of the Libyan Humvee
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/libya-technical-humvee-90mm-cannon/
Drone hunting teams:
https://www.economist.com/1843/2024/01/15/on-patrol-with-the-ukrainian-armys-drone-hunters
Drone cages around buildings:
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-bashneft-protects-refineries-with-anti-drone-nets-ria-says-2024-04-19/
ERA meme
Ukrainian explosive reactive armour on Leopard 2
byu/GreenEyedCat96 inMilitary
Caveats & Comments:
All normal caveats and comments apply. In particular – I would like to note as always that this material has been created for entertainment purposes and is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive examination of the topic in question and should not be relied upon to inform financial or other similar decisions.
Timestamps:
00:00:00 — Opening Words
00:00:50 — What Am I Talking About?
00:01:25 — Modifications & Motives
00:16:48 — Protection
00:19:21 — Spaced Armour & Cope Cages
00:33:06 — Other Adopters?
00:40:51 — Extreme Evolutions
00:48:14 — Protection – Reactive Armour
00:54:46 — Protection – Improvised
01:01:45 — Channel Update
Content Creator – Perun
