Ukraine war lessons show up on Chinese armor in Pakistan drill

Chinese Type 08 infantry fighting vehicles fitted with anti-drone roof cages and side grilles carried assault troops during Karakoram 2026, the first joint army training between China and Pakistan, now under way in Korla in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported on Oct. 21.

The exercise has moved into its main drill phase, in which mixed Chinese and Pakistani units rehearse a full raid on a mock terrorist camp, from reconnaissance and strikes to clearing buildings. Footage aired by CCTV also showed drone swarms carrying out suicide strikes and robotic dogs scouting building interiors ahead of the troops.

The drill opened with reconnaissance vehicles and drones watching the camp to track the mock enemy’s positions and movements. Snipers then took up firing positions, drone swarms struck exposed targets, and armored vehicles followed with direct fire. When the strikes ended, Type 08 vehicles carried the assault team forward, and more of them brought in clearance teams that dismounted and pushed deeper into the camp, with the robotic dogs going ahead to check buildings.

The Type 08 is an eight-wheeled armored vehicle family used by the People’s Liberation Army. The vehicles seen in the drill had a metal grille fitted over the roof and additional grilles on the sides, which CCTV said were designed specifically to counter drone attacks.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs commentator, told the Global Times that the roof cage was a rapid tactical adaptation to the drone threat, drawing on lessons from the war in Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East. He said that even in counterterrorism training, units in high-altitude areas rely on drones, and that the PLA needs ways to counter militant groups that might use drones for sabotage.

Such cages, often called “cope cages,” first spread widely on Russian armor during the war in Ukraine, where first-person-view drones have repeatedly hit the thinner roof, rear and engine areas of tanks and armored vehicles. Chinese forces have adopted them before: the PLA has fitted cages to ZBD-09 infantry fighting vehicles and showed Type 15 light tanks with anti-drone cages during a high-altitude exercise in October 2024.

Chinese soldiers said they had picked up tactics from their Pakistani counterparts, whose army has extensive counterinsurgency experience.

“What impressed me most about this joint training is that the Pakistani military has real combat experience, so many of their lessons are worth learning. When we enter a building and throw a grenade, we throw it far; they throw it at the ground so it bounces at speed, ricocheting two or three times instead of staying in one place. That effectively stops the enemy from picking it up and throwing it back,” said Pan Li, a member of a unit under the Xinjiang military command, CCTV reported.

China’s Ministry of National Defense announced the exercise on Oct. 10, saying it would focus on joint counterterrorism operations at high altitude and include training in drone operations, firing on the move and long-range sniping, as well as joint command and live-force drills. All weapons and equipment are being provided by China, including Type 191 rifles, Type 201 squad machine guns, Type 11 armored assault vehicles, Type 08 infantry fighting vehicles, artillery, and drone and counter-drone systems, CCTV Military reported.