https://www.twz.com/news-features/russians-erect-mesh-net-tunnel-over-a-mile-long-to-counter-ukrainian-fpv-dronesRussians Erect Mesh Net ‘Tunnel’ Over A Mile Long To Counter Ukrainian FPV Drones
Enclosing an entire roadway in mesh netting is the latest in an ongoing effort to protect against these highly maneuverable weapons.
Howard Altman
Russian troops have set up a 2km (1.24 mile) mesh netting “tunnel” on a road linking Bakhmut and Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. The mesh netting is designed to protect Russian logistics against first-person view (FPV) drones that have become a ubiquitous attack weapon for both sides. The move comes as Russian forces are launching another major push against the town of Chasiv Yar.
“To cover the supply routes of the Russian Armed Forces from FPV drones, military engineers are installing protective nets,” a Russian soldier said on a video showing the construction of the mesh net tunnel. “Our group maintains more than two kilometers of anti-drone nets. The nets are placed on the most exposed sections of the roads to ensure the safe movement of our equipment. We strive to continuously expand the coverage area, enhancing the installation technology of the nets to set them up more quickly.”
The video shows Russian troops unrolling a spool of mesh netting, which they then attached to 15- to 20-foot poles spaced evenly along both sides of the road. The theory is that the netting will provide a buffer to keep Ukrainian FPV drones from directly striking vehicles.
“The expectation is that the FPV drone, on the final trajectory of its attack, will simply get entangled with its propellers in the taut net or go off course, even if it manages to break it,” the Russian Military Informant Telegram channel wrote.
Russian troops built a mesh net ‘tunnel’ to protect against Ukrainian FPV drones. (X screencap)
You can see how Ukrainian FPV drones have affected Russian vehicle traffic in the following video.
The netting is the latest iteration of the ongoing efforts by each side to develop drone technology and ways to counter it.
“A year ago, the enemy created roads covered by electronic warfare posts,” Ukrainian drone expert Serhii Beskrestnov, also known as Serhii Flash, wrote on Telegram about the mesh tunnel. “Now drones have so many frequencies that it is not realistic to close them with electronic warfare (EW). And plus, drones with [artificial intelligence] and drones on fiber optic [cables] have appeared.”
Yuri Podolyaka, an influential Russian milblogger, suggested that the anti-FPV drone netting is a creation by troops in the field on an ad hoc basis because the Russian Defense Ministry is providing insufficient EW equipment.
“This is the ingenuity of the fighters against the bureaucrats of the General Staff who are still unable to understand that today electronic warfare is more important than tanks,” Podolyaka wrote on Telegram. “And even more so than a bunch of different expensive junk that was created for war and which is absolutely useless now. But which is still being mass-produced by our factories (and often ahead of schedule).”
The anti-FPV drone system erected in Donetsk is not the first time Russians have tried to use netting on a grand scale to defeat these fast, highly maneuverable weapons. As we previously reported, the Russians used mesh nets strung between lamposts on a road near Bakhmut to try and break up and deter FPV drones. However, the Ukrainians quickly found a workaround, flying over the nets to strike targets behind them. That system, however, did not have side or top netting that would provide better, encapsulated protection. The following video shows how Ukrainian FPV drone operators overcame that netting.
“Similar initiatives to hang anti-drone nets along roads in the Bakhmut direction have been observed since 2023. But such an extended single structure is encountered for the first time,” the Russian Military Informant Telegram channel noted. “The downside is that such networks will need to be constantly updated, given the intensity with which the enemy uses its kamikazes against Russian logistics.”
Another potential downside not addressed by Russian sources is how these nets would hold up against Ukrainian drone-dropped munitions. Those could take out not just the nets, but the poles supporting them without exposing the drone to the mesh countermeasure. Even FPV drones with the ability to command detonate would also punch holes in these nets, allowing other FPVs to enter.
Given the vast number of deadly FPV drones deployed, however, even an imperfect solution could prove beneficial. One noted Russian milblogger suggests that is already the case in Chasiv Yar, a town Russia has partially held since last July and is making another large push to capture the rest.
“Now, along the road, supplies are calmly flowing to the units liberating Chasiv Yar,” Oleg Tsarov posited on Telegram. The city, as the following video shows, has been devastated by the fighting.
Still, creating a netted ‘tunnel’ of sorts will also confine Russian forces to a very narrow and well-defined corridor that can be bombarded by artillery and other means of attack. This could prove to be a far more ‘fatal funnel’ than what an open road plagued by FPV attacks would be.
It will be interesting to see how successful this tactic ends up being. We will likely know more in the near future.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com