The following large and apparently well-sourced passage was deleted a month or so ago with an edit summary claiming it is all "pro-Ukraine propaganda", and it has not yet been reverted. Editors might want to review the deleted material to see if some or all of it should be reinstated, as I can't see a problem:
Russian forces attempted to counter these top-attack missiles by adding improvised
steel grilles—sometimes referred to as "
cope cages"
[1] due to skepticism from military analysts over their effectiveness—to the top of the turret.
[2][3][4][5][6][7] This
improvised armour adds weight to the tank, increases its visual profile, and makes it more difficult for the crew to escape from the tank.
[8] Analysts have speculated that they may be potentially used as a countermeasure against RPG-7s fired from above during urban combat,
loitering munitions, or against drone attacks, as a response to lessons learned from the
2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
[9][10] The lack of uniformity of the makeshift cages made from different meshes and iron fences suggest that they are largely improvised by the tank crews, and are not standard issue.
[11]
On May 4, 2022 in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, a T-90M Proryv-3 was destroyed in action, the first confirmed destroyed in the war.[12][13] The tank, which appeared near Kharkiv on April 25, was destroyed by soldiers of the 127th Territorial Defence Brigade[14][15] using a Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle. On September 18 in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, a T-90M was captured - the first confirmed in the war.[16][17] As of December 4, a second T-90M had been captured by the Ukrainian Army.[18] As of the May 3 2023, at least seven T-90S export variant had been lost whilst in Russian service.[19]
The captured tank was investigated by Ukrainian tank designers who described it as "not different from T-72B", with the primary difference being fire control system largely built on parts imported in bypass of Western sanctions.[20]
"Russian tanks in Ukraine are sprouting cages". The Economist. March 14, 2022. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. They have indeed been mockingly dubbed by Western analysts as "emotional support armour" or "cope cages". Superficially, they are an example of what is known in military circles as field-expedient armour—in other words, stuff that has been added to vehicles after they have entered service.
"Igazi tankszörnyet zsákmányoltak az ukránok". Portfolio.hu (in Hungarian). March 2, 2022. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022. (From Hungarian) the improvised armour on the tower, referred to as ... "cope cage" ... to protect the combat vehicles from drone missiles or armor-piercing rockets coming from above.
"Speech by Defence Secretary on Russia's invasion of Ukraine". gov.uk. 9 May 2022. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-09. Russian soldiers' futile use of pine logs as makeshift protection on logistical trucks and attaching overhead 'cope cages' to their tanks, it's nothing short of tragic. But their commanders' failures to adapt before entering them into such a conflict is criminal.
"Russian tanks in Ukraine are sprouting cages". The Economist. March 14, 2022. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Another idea is that the cages are a response to the conflict in 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan, over Nagorno-Karabakh, in which large numbers of Russian-made Armenian tanks were destroyed from above by MAM-Ls ... A third possibility is that the cages are meant as protection against RPGs ... which are being fired at tanks from above. This ... is a preferred tactic in urban warfare, where buildings offer shooters the necessary elevation.
"Les "cope cages", protections bricolées et moquées des chars russes impuissants". Slate.fr (in French). March 23, 2022. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2022. Ces structures approximatives sont ce qu'il est devenu coutumier d'appeler des cope cages en anglais ... Elles sont le résultat des observations par l'armée russe du conflit opposant Azerbaïdjan et Arménie dans le Haut-Karabakh.
[It has become customary to call these makeshift structures "cope cages" in English... They are the result of observations made by the Russian army towards the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh.]
BobFromBrockley (talk) 14:10, 25 August 2023 (UTC)
- Why hasn't this been actioned? ForWikiCont (talk) 13:33, 16 December 2023 (UTC)