The UK Ministry of Defence has released satellite imagery of russia's naval base in Novorossiysk, showing additional protective measures installed on submarines capable of launching 3M-14 Kalibr land-attack cruise missiles.
The images show that two Project 636.3 Varshavyanka submarines moored inside the harbor have been fitted with large lattice-frame structures, commonly referred to as "cope cages."
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These improvised structures are most likely intended to protect the submarine's sail, which houses vulnerable retractable equipment such as the periscope, communications antennas, snorkel mast, and other critical systems. Damage to these components from FPV drones or munitions dropped by unmanned aerial vehicles could severely degrade, or even prevent, the submarine's ability to operate.
According to the UK Ministry of Defence, satellite imagery indicates that three submarines of russia's Black Sea Fleet have already received such protective structures, while a fourth is likely to be equipped in the near future.
Currently, russia has four submarines deployed in the Black Sea:
- B-262 Stary Oskol (Project 636.3)
- B-268 Veliky Novgorod (Project 636.3)
- B-271 Kolpino (Project 636.3)
- B-871 Alrosa (Project 877 Paltus)
However, one important detail deserves attention.
On December 15, 2025, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), together with the Ukrainian Navy, reportedly struck a russian submarine in Novorossiysk Bay using an underwater unmanned surface vehicle. It later emerged that the target was B-271 Kolpino, which Ukrainian officials assessed had suffered catastrophic damage beyond economic repair.
If that assessment is correct, it is possible that the only submarine still lacking a "cope cage" is Kolpino itself. Such an explanation would suggest that the submarine is no longer operational, making additional protective measures unnecessary.
At this stage, however, this remains only a hypothesis. Confirmation will require either additional official information or clearer satellite imagery showing all four submarines currently based in Novorossiysk.
russia has not limited these improvised protective measures to the Black Sea. Similar "cope cages" have also been observed on submarines in the Baltic Fleet and even in the Pacific Fleet, more than 7,200 kilometers from Ukraine, where protective netting has been installed on nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines armed with R-30 Bulava SLBMs.
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