Jul 12, 2024
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS FROM TALBOTRON22
A new type of drone weapon is starting to make its mark in the Ukraine conflict, a munition well suited to the unique capabilities of small drones.
A recent video from Ukrainian drone fundraiser Serhii Sternenko shows an attack by a ‘special drone’ on a house used by Russian troops. At first two FPV drones hit the building, but their small explosive warheads just break some windows. Then we see the viewpoint of a third FPV as it crashes on to the corrugated metal roof, followed by a shot from a reconnaissance drone. The cashed FPV fizzes like a firework, spraying out a jet of sparks, and continues burning.
In the next shot, the munition has burned right through the metal roof. Smoke and flame are pouring out of the house, which is later seen completely ablaze, destroying any equipment which may have been stored there.
Miliary specialists will recognize the type of munition. There is no explosion, and no dense white smoke as there is from phosphorus incendiaries. The other tell-tale sign is that it burns hot enough to go through metal. This is thermite.
Burning At 4,000 Degrees
Usually made of a mixture of powered iron oxide (in other words, rust) and aluminum, burning thermite is a popular high school science demonstration. It burns because the oxygen in the rust is more attracted to aluminum than iron, so it does not need external oxygen and will burn underwater. Reaching temperatures of around 4,000F, a thermite reaction tends to melt through whatever it is standing on, as seen in this video of a thermite grenade on a steel . Thermite is used industrially for welding.
PICTURE ALLIANCE VIA GETTY IMAGES
Unlike other types of grenade, thermite needs to be very close to target to have an effect. This is why the U.S. Army’s AN-M14 thermite grenades is more classed as a demolition tool than a weapon, used to “damage, immobilize, or destroy vehicles, weapons systems, shelters, or munitions.” (Technically this is thermate rather than thermite, which adds barium nitrate to the mix to lower ignition temperature).
Themite demolition normally requires hand placement of the grenade. These days though, a small drone can position it with almost equal precision. For example, this video from the Birds of Magyar drone unit shows four abandoned Russian vehicles destroyed by thermite grenades dropped through the hatches. M67 grenades are often used for the same job, but the advantage with thermite is the reliability: once it starts burning, it will raise the internal temperature enough to guarantee the vehicle burns. Birds of Magyar is one of the most respected and experienced drone units, and their use of thermite suggests it is effective.
Thermite burns so hot it does not always need a direct hit. In this video,
the drone bomber misses the hatch of an abandoned MT-LB armored vehicle and the thermite bomb lands beside it. That would normally be a wasted grenade, but the thermite burns so hot that the jet of sparks sets the MT-LB alight from the outside. Within seconds the inferno engulfs the whole vehicle.
Steel Hornets New Product Line
Where are the new munitions coming from? There appear to be several types in use but, but at least some of them are from the Steel Hornets group, which functions as Amazon for drone bombs, shipping small orders direct to individual drone units.
Steel Hornets previously made a variety of armor-piercing and fragmentation munitions for drop drones, heavy bombers and FPVs. A few months they launched a new product line of thermite munitions.
The smallest is a one-pound bomb suitable for small quadcopters, which will burn through steel a sixth of an inch thick (4mm) in ten seconds, a bargain at $10. The largest weighs over five pounds and will burn through a third of an inch of steel, leaving a hole four inches across and filling the interior with red hot liquid metal. That one is $24.
Steel Hornets advise that the thermite bombs should be dropped from low attitude, preferably less than 100 feet, otherwise they may bounce off the target . Some of the bombs come with magnetic attachment, presumably for precision, zero-altitude drops.
Meanwhile the U.S. recently restarted production of its M14 incendiary grenades with a batch of over 72,000 due for completion shortly. Perhaps a few of these may also find their way to Ukraine.
Drone-Munition Synergy
The combination of drones and thermite is a powerful one because the drone’s precision delivery can out the thermite exactly where it will have the greatest effect. And even a small greande can start a big fire.
This was painfully demonstrated to Ukraine in 2015-18, years before the latest invasion, in a series of strikes on munition storage sites. In one such event near Kharkiv, fire and explosion destroyed thousands of tons of munitions and forced the evacuation 20,000 people from nearby housing.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) traced the sabotage to quadcopter drones dropping thermite grenades, specifically the Russian ZMG-1, a high-temperature incendiary weapon. The SBU believe the attacks were carried out by Russian Spetsnaz Special Forces sabotage units inside Ukraine but they were never caught.
MARIUPOL RESISTANCE
Thermite is not as effective as shaped charge warheads against armor, nor as useful as fragmentation for antipersonnel use and does not have the powerful blast of thermobaric designs. But it is very useful for precision attacks on flammable targets.
As Ukraine steps up drone attacks on Russian oil and gas storage sites and electricity substations, thermite is likely to feature increasingly. The metal cages which the Russians have started putting around infrastructure are unlikely to stop them.
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Thermite will be very effective against battle barns, too, which will easily burn through any sheet metal and cause molten metal to drips and pour on the vehicle below, causing it to burn and eventually detonate.
“Russian oil storage tanks now have protective cages. These might keep explosive warheads at a distance but would be less useful against thermite.”
Ditto for oil storage tanks. Since much larger drones are usually used for such long-range attacks, they will carry large thermite loads which can easily burn through the steel storage tanks or oil producing structures. Even if the protective cages are dense enough to prevent thermite charges from dropping through, the molten metal will pour through to wreak havoc to anything below.