First It Was Turtle Tanks, Now Russian Buggies and Motorbikes Get Anti-Drone Cages

The success and fear of first-person view (FPV) drones during the war in Ukraine has led to the appearance of so-called “cope cages” on the tanks and armored personal carriers (APC) of both sides, aimed at limiting the impact of the weapons. Initially an assortment of crude grills, frames and screens fitted in the field were used, often referred to as BBQ grills. Now Russia has reportedly taken to fitting purpose-built anti-drone grills on factory new-build tanks and APCs.

Several months ago, both Ukrainian and Russian troops began using buggies and motorcycles on the battlefield. Kyiv’s troops used the fast, lightweight, and mobile vehicles to carry supplies, troops, small arms and even anti-tank guided missiles into rear areas.

A modified motorbike and sidecar complete with improvised cope cage. Photo: Telegram

But Russia doesn’t just use them as “dispatch riders” carrying messages to and from commanders in the field. They have fitted them with carriers for munitions and supplies, but also as a strike component supporting their mechanized infantry attacks on Kharkiv and Avdiivka.

Russian troops fighting today have quickly learned that riding these fragile, unprotected vehicles into combat was just a quicker way of dying, as they soon found themselves targeted by Ukraine’s FPVs, and their agility in most cases was unable to save them.

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Ukraine, which has been facing a Russian offensive for over two years, regularly launches attacks targeting Russian energy and defence sites in response to strikes on its territory.

Forbes cites the report of just such an engagement posted on the Telegram channel of Ukraine’s 79th Air Assault Brigade on May 7. A swarm of Russian motorcyclists supporting a Russian tank and two APCs attacked positions in the Novomykhailivka area in the Donetsk region.

The post said that Ukrainian troops “did not appreciate the [Russian’s] creativity and issued a speeding fine to each rider long before the finish line.” Using FPV drones the defenders “beat them in their teeth,” destroying eight motorcycles and one BMP, killing the motorbike riders and the APC crew, and damaging the tank and the other APC.

Rather than abandon the concept completely, Russian military bloggers reported at the end of May that that Moscow’s forces have begun to put improvised anti-drone protection and camouflage nets or tarpaulins onto these smaller vehicles in the hope of defeating the Ukrainian battlefield’s arch enemy.

Unfortunately for the users of the vehicles, the cages, particularly on the motorbikes makes them cumbersome, slow and unwieldy with the camouflage restricting the riders’ visibility – both to see where he is going and to see the arrival of yet another FPV drone.

This was amply demonstrated on a Telegram video posted by Ukraine’s Apachi FPV Strike Group, which showed a caged motorcycle wrapped in green tarpaulin, trundling along an unidentified dirt road in broad daylight somewhere near the front line on Friday June 7. It stuck out like a sore thumb and was swiftly dealt with.

The Daily Telegraph, citing the UK’s Imperial War Museum, commented that the best camouflage is made up of “irregular, colored shapes that make it difficult to determine the outline and form of the camouflaged object.” The bright green square shape running around, apparently oblivious of the fact an FPV drone was stalking it, was the antithesis of good camouflage and actually made it stand out.

The fact that after the strike the crew on the bike seemed to escape at least showed the cage worked to some extent, but its builders need to go back to the drawing board.