- The British Army Trials Unit tested steel and fibreglass cope cages on a Challenger 2 tank
- It is said that the apparatus significantly reduced situational awareness and rendered the remote weapon system unusable
- The trial determined that the trade-offs subjected on a tank crew mean cope cages should be used “for emergency purposes only”
On the sidelines of the Future Armoured Vehicles Survivability conference in London on 19 November, Army Technology was briefed by a member of the British Army Trials Unit regarding tests assessing the effectiveness of fibreglass and steel cope cages for protecting a Challenger 2 main battle tank (MBT).
Cope cages – a colloquial term referring to a type of slat armour using bars, slats, or a mesh cage – provide an additional layer of protection to armoured vehicles against one-way attack uncrewed aerial systems (UAS).
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In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, UAS have surpassed conventional artillery in causing 80% of casualties on the battlefield. This figure has even led some to question the utility of armoured vehicles in an environment saturated with these pervasive systems. Of approximately 100 Western MBTs (Leopard 2s/Challenger 2s) delivered to Ukraine’s Armed Forces, it is said that 28 have been lost.
Details of the trial
Both cope cages were made by the Army Trials Unit (ATU) and are said to have successfully protected the MBT against a swarm of 20 attack drones from different angles.
Even though the fibreglass cage, which can be around 50% lighter than steel, reduced the weight of the platform, the tank crew were confronted with unavoidable problems.
“Would it be dictated by operational [environment]? We’re going to be in an environment where there will be plenty of drones, [in which case] we’re now going to put on a cope cage. But from a user perspective, it was actually very difficult to navigate and to use that tank tactically,” the ATU commander acknowledged. “Situational awareness was massively reduced. Things like [the remote weapon system] couldn’t be used.”
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By GlobalDataSpeaking exclusively to this reporter, the ATU commander suggested these cages were problematic since it took many hours to bolt them on and off the platform.
Furthermore, Army Technology reviewed unreleased imagery of the fibreglass cope cage. It was a tall apparatus that boxed over almost the entire MBT, covering the diesel engine at the rear hull, the main hatch, and the turret, extending down to the tracks.
“Did it improve lethality?” asked another soldier familiar with the trial, “no, because on the whole it decreases your ability to manoeuvre properly.”
However, due to their efficacy against drone swarms, cope cages could still be used “but for emergency purposes only,” the leading trial manager insisted.
“I think… the results from the trial were not unsuccessful, but there was a lot more, looking into when you would use a cope cage,” he assessed. In the end, it is a question of trade-offs between lethality and survivability.
The two said there are no further cope cage trials on the horizon but expressed there is still value in testing these optional layers of protection in the future.
Future protection
The UK is currently in the process of upgrading 148 of its Challenger 2 MBTs to the Challenger 3 standard, incorporating a new turret, main gun system, and new layers of protection.
It is thought the Challenger 3 could feature new composite armour, as well as fielding the Trophy active protection system, an Israeli system that uses radar sensors to detect and track threats and deploy effectors to intercept them.
During the conference, the British Army confirmed that demonstrator technology within the Modular Integrated Protection System, or MIPS, will reach technology readiness level seven sometime in 2026.
MIPS constitutes a wider open systems architecture comprising various layers of protection. The system is intended to address the active protection of military vehicles against a saturated threat landscape on the ground including conventional anti-tank guided missiles and rocket propelled grenades to new generation weapons such as small UAS and a range of electromagnetic activities.
