Satellite imagery shows Russia covers submarines in Pacific with anti-drone netting – photo

Russia has installed additional anti-drone netting on its submarines at a naval base in the Pacific Ocean, more than 7,000 km from Ukraine, satellite imagery shows.

Source: Business Insider, a global news website, referring to satellite imagery as of 4 August

Quote: "The new images, collected on Tuesday [4 August – ed.] 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."

Details: Business Insider points out that images taken in May showed only two submarines covered with netting at the base, which serves as the central hub of Russia's Pacific Fleet and is home to nuclear submarines carrying ballistic missiles as well as attack submarines.

The Rybachiy naval base is located more than 4,500 miles (over 7,200 km) east of Ukraine.

Quote: "The appearance of these defences so far from the conflict suggests Russia sees its vulnerability to drone attacks extending well beyond the immediate fighting, including to its Pacific Fleet."

More details: Business Insider reported that Ukraine's Armed Forces have demonstrated the ability to strike targets more than 2,000 km inside Russian territory. The publication also referred to Operation Spider's Web in June 2025, when Ukraine launched drones from within Russia to strike air bases in the Arctic, Siberia and the Far East.

The UK Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence report that the appearance of these cages over submarines in the Pacific is "applied as a preventive measure in response to Ukraine's increased ability to strike targets further from the front line".

Anti-drone netting has also appeared at other Russian bases.

Images taken by Vantor in June show that Russia has also installed anti-drone protection over the conning towers of at least three submarines at a naval base in the city of Novorossiysk, in the south-west of Krasnodar Krai. This facility serves as a base for Russia's Black Sea Fleet and has already been targeted by Ukrainian drones on multiple occasions.

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