Global Courant 2023-05-07 03:04:25
Cope Cage era
Video shows a Russian T-72B3 tank from its western military district thundering through the mud with an overhead metal screen, commonly referred to as a “cope cage” by Ukrainian troops, with an additional layer of what appears to be Kontakt-1 explosive reactive armor (ERA) bricks on top.
Full video from the Russian Ministry of Defense showed the tank firing drone-corrected indirect fire at high altitude using its 125mm gun. It nearly disables the drone filming its attack with gun overpressure.
(Russian MOD Screencap)
Cope cages appeared on Russian armored vehicles end of 2021 in the midst of the pre-war build-up as a counterbalance hanging ammunition and drones, especially the Turkish-made TB-2 used in the War in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 and later by Ukraine against Russian forces. It seemed there was also hope, albeit misplaced, that they could also defeat anti-armor guided missiles capable of strikes from above.
As the war progressed, cages made their way to TOS-1 thermobaric rocket launchers And Soviet-era T-62s taken into service after heavy losses. Russian troops in the rear area soon took up similar improvised, Mad Max armor in presence of attacks by Ukrainian troops behind the lines.
In general, ERA works to defend against attacks from armor-piercing weapons such as high-explosive armor-piercing (HEAT) rounds and armor-piercing sabot rounds by detonating (creating a counterpunch) on impact before the weapon penetrates the tank. tower or hull. This disrupts the effects of the weapon or outright destroys it, saving the tank’s crew and possibly the tank itself. In some applications, when attached at a steep angle, they can also act to deflect the weapon’s effects.
Russia’s new ERA loaded cage from above. (Russian MOD screencap)
It is unclear whether the Contact-1 stones could make the cage more livable. While such a screen might better protect against top light attacks from drone-dropped mortars or FPV kamikaze drones, those systems only posed a serious threat to tanks with their hatches open. Also, they seem to be placed flat, meaning they lose the ability to deflect the angle of the weapon.
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Whether they could help counter apex-capable anti-tank missiles is an entirely different question. Also, if someone was in the hatch below them when they exploded, what damage, if any, would be done to them is another question.
The evolution and spread of these screens has been somewhat fascinating to watch over the past year and a half. It is clear that work is still underway to make them serve an intended purpose, at least in a more robust way.
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