Anti-FPV Net Tunnels & Curtains
Wire mesh or fishing-net curtains strung over roads, trenches, ammunition dumps, command posts, and CASEVAC routes. Forms physical 'drone tunnels' kilometers long. The cheapest and most reliable area-denial measure against FPV strikes; it defeats both RF-link and fiber-optic FPVs because the kill mechanism is purely mechanical. Against fiber-optic FPVs, which no EW layer can touch, nets are one of the few scalable options. A drone hitting the net either detonates early or gets entangled before reaching its target. The effect depends on the airframe hitting the net, not on the trailing cable. Dense coverage is critical, because practitioners report that even small gaps let drones through.
How It Works
A simple physical barrier: the FPV either snags rotors in the mesh and crashes, or detonates harmlessly on the net well above the protected vehicle/personnel. Posts every 5–15 m support 4–6 m high netting. By 2025 both sides built tens of kilometres of net tunnels over MSRs and trenches on the Pokrovsk, Kupyansk and Toretsk axes; Russian forces have also raised tunnel-style overhead structures (sometimes called 'retrograde net tunnels') as fiber-optic FPVs proliferated.
Technical Specifications
Advantages
- + Defeats fiber-optic FPVs that bypass every EW system
- + Zero per-engagement cost: passive infrastructure
- + Works 24/7 with no operator, no batteries, no signature
- + Easy to repair after a strike: replace the damaged panel
Disadvantages
- − Static: cannot protect maneuver elements in open ground
- − Visually advertises 'something valuable here' if poorly sited
- − Vulnerable to heavy bomber drops from above (net catches the munition but blast may still penetrate)
- − Wind, snow, and artillery shrapnel degrade the structure
Tactical Deployment Tips
- ▸ Cover the full length of MSRs near the FLOT, not just chokepoints
- ▸ Layer with overhead mesh on critical static sites (CP, ammo, fuel)
- ▸ Use camouflaged netting to avoid free targeting cues
- ▸ Maintain dedicated repair teams: single broken panel = open corridor
Limitations & Vulnerabilities
- ⚠ Cannot protect mobile convoys at speed
- ⚠ Heavy bomber drones can drop munitions onto the net from altitude
- ⚠ Recon drones overfly without engagement; it does nothing for ISR
Drones It Defeats
Drone types ranked by how well this system defeats them, tap any drone for detailsi
⚠ How Adversaries Defeat This System
Active enemy adaptations observed in the field, distinct from passive limitations above
- ▸ Heavy bombers releasing munitions from above the net
- ▸ Drones flying around uncovered gaps; coverage discipline matters
- ▸ Repeated strikes on the same panel to create a breach
Sources & Further Reading
About our sources- ReportingVGI: Nets, Fire Teams, and Lasers: Inside the Fight Against Fiber-Optic Drones (2026)
- ReportingAOL / Business Insider: Ukraine's front-line road nets are catching Russian drones (2025)
- ReportingUnited24 Media: Russia's 'retrograde' net tunnels: latest frontline tactic against Ukrainian drones (Feb 12, 2025)
- ReportingEuromaidan Press: Russia develops tunnel-like protective structures as Ukrainian drone operators hunt vulnerabilities (Apr 17, 2025)
- ReportingFirstpost: How Ukraine is using fishing nets to fend off Russia's drones (Aug 2025)
- PrimaryMWI (West Point): Missiles, Guns, Lasers… and Nets: The Case for Passive Drone Defenses