Anti-drone nets saved Russian oil depot
1 November, 2024 Anti-drone protection of oil storage facilities of the Slavyansk oil refinery, April 2024. The photo is illustrative. During today's long-range drone attack on the Stavropol Krai of the Russian Federation, anti-drone nets protected a Russian oil depot.
Local Telegram channels published the video of the drone strike. The protective structures with nets around the perimeter of the oil bunkers stopped a direct hit by a Ukrainian strike drone. As a result of the impact, the high-explosive-incendiary warhead of the drone detonated, but was unable to cause damage to the storage facility and create a fire.
Passive anti-drone defense in the form of nets and grids stretched around flammable objects at oil depots began to appear earlier this year, along with the increase in such attacks by the Ukrainian Defense Forces. Additionally, the pace of their development accelerated with the enactment of the Russian "Law on Criminal Liability for Failure to Maintain Anti-Terrorist Security of Objects", which effectively places all responsibility for the protection of the strategic facilities on their owners.
Given the latter, Russia currently has no single project to protect such facilities, and the measures to improve security are being implemented in various ways through private initiatives. Hence, the different effectiveness in countering attacks by strike drones. For example, during the March attack on one of the oil depots in the Belgorod region, the fuel storage facilities protected by the mesh were successfully hit.
Nets placed around a fuel tank at an oil depot in the Belgorod region, March 2024
Similar measures have been taken at some oil refineries.
In particular, the Moscow oil refinery received protection in the form of metal cables covering a large area of the infrastructure facility. The design is a network of 8-mm metal cables fixed at a considerable height and installed at a distance of 60 cm from each other. According to the authors' idea, the strength of the cables should be sufficient to stop a heavy high-speed object, after which it should slide down.
In addition to the above-mentioned refinery, their appearance was noticed at several other oil refineries in Russia.
Anti-drone protection made of metal cables over the infrastructure of the Moscow oil refinery.
Russia, 2024
In total, last month alone, the Ukrainian long-range strike drones attacked at least 15 facilities in Russia.
In particular, three oil depots, three distilleries, and two ammunition depots.