Satellite imagery shows Russian submarine anti-drone defenses now draped over submarines at Rybachiy on the Kamchatka Peninsula, including boats tied up at the Russian Navy base there. The images place the protective netting over some of Russia’s most sensitive sea-based weapons at a site far from the fighting in Ukraine.
Imagery dated August 4 shows several different types of submarines fully covered by nets at Rybachiy. The base is the homeport for the vast majority of Borei and Borei-A class nuclear ballistic missile submarines in service in Russia today, and it also hosts guided missile and attack submarines assigned to the Pacific Fleet.
Rybachiy nets in May and August
Additional imagery from Vantor indicates Russian forces appear to have started using the nets at Rybachiy in May. Crane barges were used to help erect the nets around submarines at their moorings in imagery from May and August, while floating booms were strung around the piers at Rybachiy.
That arrangement is not decorative. The nets sit above submarines that are still at berth, turning the mooring area into a layered defense zone rather than leaving the boats exposed in open water. Similar netting has also been observed elsewhere globally, but here it protects submarines that form a core part of Russia’s deterrent posture.
Novorossiysk and the Kilo class
On June 13, the Ministry of Defense in the United Kingdom published imagery from Vantor of the Russian Navy’s base in Novorossiysk on the Black Sea. The images show several Kilo class attack submarines partially submerged in port, and three of the boats appear to have anti-drone armor screens over their conning towers.
British authorities said the Russian Black Sea Fleet has equipped three of its four Kilo class submarines with counter-UAS cages covering the vessels’ conning towers. British authorities also said the cages were applied as a preventive measure in response to Ukraine’s increased ability to strike targets further from the front line.
Conning towers above water
British authorities said commercial satellite imagery dated 13 June 2026 showed three submarines had loosened their moorings and submerged within the basin. Yet the same assessment said the submarines’ conning towers remained above the waterline, which is why extra cages were needed on boats that were otherwise mostly below the surface.
For readers watching Russia’s naval posture, the practical takeaway is simple: the defenses are now visible, but their effectiveness is not answered by the imagery. The next move is not a public announcement; it is whether Russian Navy base defenses spread beyond Rybachiy and Novorossiysk as drone threats force more hardware into place.
