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Ukrainian forces are using drones to release molten thermite on Russian armor and positions.
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The tactic helps Kyiv make sure that damaged Russian tanks can’t be fixed up for battle again.
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BI visited one of the companies that produces this ammunition in Kyiv.
KYIV, Ukraine — The war in Ukraine has given birth to unimaginable drones, including ones that breathe fire.
In battlefield footage recently reviewed by Business Insider, a small Ukrainian drone slowly approaches a Russian tank, stalking its prey as it closes in.
The drone lands on the Russian armor and releases a plume of smoke, followed by a sudden and wild display of sparks, triggering a fire. Before long, the tank is completely engulfed in flames.
This fiery attack showcased a destructive tactic that Ukrainian forces are using to finish off incapacitated Russian tanks: They are strapping incendiary munitions on drones.
Volodymyr, who asked that BI use only his first name for security reasons, is a partner at a Ukrainian company that makes the ammunition. “It is used to set fire to already damaged vehicles so that the enemy cannot restore them,” he told BI through a translator in Kyiv.
The company, known as “Burning Watermelon,” makes a munition that disperses an incendiary material he identified as molten thermite. It is essentially a collection of small metal pieces that burn at temperatures of over 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Russia has lost over 11,000 tanks and armored vehicles since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, Britain’s defense ministry said late last year.
An abandoned Russian T-62 tank after it was captured by the Ukrainian military.DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images
Numerous Russian tanks have been destroyed in battle, devastated by anti-tank missiles, artillery, mines, and drones and loitering munitions. But others have suffered only mobility kills that have left them incapacitated. In those instances, troops may abandon the vehicle and attempt to get it back later for repair.
For Ukraine, it’s important that Russia’s damaged tanks and armored vehicles stay down so they can’t be repaired and sent back into battle. That’s where the molten thermite comes into play.
Burning Watermelon produces small, sleek-looking munitions that can be attached to a drone like a regular explosive payload. The drone can then either disperse the thermite onto a vehicle below or fly directly onto it, land, and spray the material kind of like a smoke grenade would do, causing a fire that may render a tank permanently inoperable.
Volodymyr said the thermite ammunition “produces a high temperature and stable ignition of the entire ammunition evenly,” allowing it to destroy dugouts and vehicles alike.
Burning Watermelon started out producing smoke bombs for Ukraine’s military to use for training purposes and to evacuate the wounded safely. The company later started making ammunition that burned like a flare, which could set concealed Russian positions on fire.
Volodymyr said Russia is mainly focused on protecting its equipment against shrapnel, which they do with combustible materials like rubber. However, the trade-off is that this makes the equipment more vulnerable to the thermite.
“It helps against shrapnel, but it all burns very well,” he said of Russian protections.
The thermite ammunition weighs between 500 grams and 2.5 kilograms (1.1 to 5.5 pounds) and costs from 20 to 30 euros ($21 to 33 USD), depending on the variant. Burning Watermelon can produce 20,000 units a month at its facilities across the country and then ship them off to soldiers on the front lines.
“For a small price,” Volodymyr explained, “a soldier gets a high-quality tool for work if he needs to destroy something.”
Burning Watermelon’s fire-breathing munitions can also be used on other targets, not just armored vehicles. BI reviewed footage of a drone spewing incendiary material onto a tree line below, presumably targeting Russian positions or equipment hidden among the trees.
When the drones release the thermite, it looks like a bright, burning yellow rain, earning it the name “Golden Rain,” according to Volodymyr. He said Ukrainian soldiers call this type of ammunition “Dracarys,” a reference to the command that makes a dragon breathe fire in the hit television series “Game of Thrones.”
Videos of this tactic began to surface in the fall; a Ukrainian drone would light up a tree line, wrecking it with small patches of fire.
Thermite-dispensing drones are one of the many innovative weapons that Ukraine’s defense industry is cranking out to defeat the Russians. Small, uncrewed aircraft of all shapes and sizes with a wide range of mission sets have become a defining and prolific aspect of the three-year-long war.
Some drones release munitions onto Russian positions below, while others fly directly into armored vehicles before detonating. Kyiv has even built drones that can launch other drones, operating as a sort of mothership.
Read the original article on Business Insider
