Earlier this week, a video circulated on social media showing a Russian main battle tank (MBT) believed to be a T-72 burning.
The tank, which was destroyed near the city of Marinka in the Donetsk Oblast, had been fitted with a “cope cage,” the open-source intelligence group Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) reported.
Fighting around the historic city of Marinka has been fierce since March 2022 when Russian forces attempted to take control of the settlement.
During the subsequent battle, buildings were purposefully destroyed in order to prevent them from being used as a cover – and earlier this year, the city was described as resembling an “urban hellscape.”
The recently destroyed tank only adds to the “ambiance.”
Trying to Cope (Cage)
Videos of destroyed tanks are common, and hardly a day now passes when the destruction of an MBT isn’t shared online. Yet, what is notable about the recent short video clip is that the Russian tank had been fitted with a so-called “cope cage” over its turret.
These first appeared on the battlefield last spring as an improvised solution – consisting of weld slats that resembled a cage – to counter man-portable anti-tank guided-missile (ATGM) systems such as the U.S.-made FGM-148 Javelin and the British NLAW.
The idea behind the cope cage is that the ordnance would strike it and detonate before hitting the vehicle’s turret or hull.
It was first utilized during the Second World War, when the German military employed cage armor, dubbed Drahtgeflecht-Schürzen (English: “wire mesh skirts”), to fortify its tanks against shell fire.
Such slat armor – also known as “bar armor,” “cage armor” and “standoff armor” is commonly used to protect tanks and other vehicles against high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) attacks from ATGMs and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). It typically takes the form of a rigid slatted metal grid fitted around key sections of the vehicle.
Though effective against missile impacts, it is only effective about half the time.
Russia had actually employed the cope cages on its T-80 tanks in Crimea in the fall of 2021, during the build-up to its unprovoked invasion, perhaps looking to address flaws in the tank’s design. It then added the slat armor to T-72 and other MBTs last year. Even now, there are reports of some T-62s being outfitted with the cope cages.
Emotional Support Armor
Western observers noted the metal slat roof resembled a garden table, and some mockingly described it as “Emotional Support Armor.” The tank crews didn’t think much of the improvised protection, and reportedly dubbed these “BBQ grills.” Perhaps the improvised armor would have been better used for cooking dinner, as the cope cages have apparently done little to stop man-portable ATGMs.
The ineffectiveness of the cope cages could be due to the fact that the Russian military gave little consideration beyond just welding a crude frame.
Often times it wasn’t sloped, while other times it was positioned too high to effectively stop an incoming missile.
Another problem is that when the cages were put on top of the tank, it could cause problems with the antennae, which was causing radios to burn out. In addition, some crews found that the remote-controlled machine guns wouldn’t rotate.
#Ukraine: A Russian tank, apparently with a cope cage, was destroyed by Ukrainian forces in Marinka, #Donetsk Oblast. pic.twitter.com/qvWSctEQTG
— ???????? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) April 26, 2023
Worst of all, even when properly positioned, the slate armor can make it harder to get out of a tank in an emergency – literally caging in the crews.
The cope cages have largely disappeared (apart from the T-62s it seems), but one crew apparently opted to stick with it. Clearly, it didn’t save their tank.
Author Experience and Expertise:
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
