Wildberries seeks metal mesh to cover more than 60 soccer fields — possibly to shield warehouses from drones
Russian online marketplace Wildberries has opened a tender for galvanized steel mesh for logistics centers in eight regions. The outlet The Bell suggests it may be meant to protect the facilities from Ukrainian drone strikes.
Russia's Wildberries online marketplace opened a tender in early August for the supply of galvanized steel mesh to its logistics centers across eight Russian regions, according to the outlet The Bell.
The tender documents do not state what the mesh is for, but a source at an industrial company told The Bell it could be intended to protect the warehouses from drone strikes. The source explained that enclosing an entire site with a metal fence remains the most common approach, since it is relatively effective, carries little risk, and faces no special regulatory requirements beyond standard construction rules.
Scale and cost
Wildberries intends to purchase 478,000 square meters of mesh — an area equivalent to 67 soccer fields. So far, suppliers have submitted bids for only three of the eight regions, with quoted prices ranging from 154 to 474 rubles per square meter.
Based on those figures, The Bell estimates the total cost of the purchase could range from 73.6 million to 226.5 million rubles.
The report illustrates how Russian companies, including major e-commerce players, are adapting to the ongoing risk of drone strikes by seeking passive protection measures for their infrastructure.
