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armorside: russiafirst seen 2026-05-01

Russian Project 21980 patrol boat fitted with anti-drone cope cage

Photos show a Russian Navy Project 21980 Grachonok patrol boat in the Black Sea with a multi-level overhead screen/"cope cage" added to the superstructure for protection against drone-delivered munitions. This adapts a now-common armored-vehicle field mod to a surface vessel, indicating naval units are improvising passive defenses against FPV/UAV threats despite likely tradeoffs in weapon arcs and coverage gaps.

DEMONSTRATED IN
deployment2026-05-01Russian Project 21980 patrol boat seen with anti-drone “cope cage” in the Black Sea
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