Russia has broadened its deployment of anti-drone nets to shield submarines at a key naval facility on the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles from Ukraine and its fleet of attack drones, according to fresh satellite imagery examined by Business Insider.

The latest images, gathered on Tuesday by the American spatial intelligence company Vantor, display more than six submarines sheltered beneath anti-drone netting at the Rybachiy Nuclear Submarine Base on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.

Photos from May indicated just two submarines protected by netting at the site, which acts as the main center for the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet and accommodates nuclear-powered ballistic missile and attack submarines.

Although Rybachiy sits more than 4,500 miles east of Ukraine, the anti-drone netting matches defenses Russia has installed nearer the conflict to safeguard Black Sea installations and naval equipment.

The presence of these protections so distant from the fighting indicates Russia views its exposure to drone strikes as extending well beyond the active combat zone, including its Pacific Fleet.

Ukrainian forces have shown they can reach deep into Russia, sending drones against targets more than 1,000 miles inside enemy territory.

Ukraine has also conducted remote strikes on targets at even greater ranges by launching attack drones not from its own soil but from within Russia. During the June 2025 Operation Spiderweb, drones targeted Russian air bases in the Arctic, Siberia, and the far east near China's northeastern border.

Russia's defense ministry and its US embassy did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the added protections.

Vantor imagery from June shows Russia has fitted at least three submarines with counter-drone cages that cover their conning towers at the Novorossiysk naval base in southwestern Krasnodar Krai. This port serves as the home for Moscow's Black Sea Fleet and has faced repeated Ukrainian drone attacks.

Britain's defense ministry stated in an intelligence update on Tuesday that these cages were installed as a preventive step in response to Ukraine's growing capacity to hit targets farther from the front line.

Ukraine has deployed exploding sea drones against Novorossiysk, prompting Russia to place large barriers in the water. Anti-drone cages mark a fresh approach to protecting naval assets, mainly aimed at countering aerial threats.

Cage armor has grown common on the battlefield. Early versions were fitted to tanks and other armored vehicles to offer extra defense against drones or shrapnel. The practice has since spread, similar to the use of anti-drone netting.

Throughout Ukraine, troops have hung netting over logistics and supply routes to guard vehicles from drone strikes.

Russia has increasingly adopted anti-drone cages and netting to defend infrastructure and assets including energy sites, weapons factories, and now submarines.

Russian actions occur as Ukraine has sharply increased its long-range drone strikes inside Russia. These attacks have usually focused on energy and military sites, though Kyiv has lately directed more efforts at Russian e-commerce warehouses.