Ukraine using “dragon drones” with molten metal on battlefield – CNN
Pravda Ukraine
The Ukrainian military is using “dragon drones” that employ molten metal as payload against the Russians on the battlefield, reports CNN.
Source: CNN
Details: The article says Ukraine seems to be using a fleet of fire-spewing “dragon drones” in the war against Russian invaders, a modern version of the munitions that had a terrible effect in both world wars.
Videos posted on social media by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence show low-flying drones dropping torrents of fire – actually molten metal – on Russian-held positions in the tree lines, CNN reports.
The white-hot mixture of aluminium powder and iron oxide, called thermite, burns at temperatures of up to 2200 degrees Celsius. Falling from a drone, thermite resembles fire coming out of the mouth of a mythical dragon, which is how drones got their name.
“Strike Drones are our wings of vengeance, bringing fire straight from the sky! They become a real threat to the enemy, burning his positions with an accuracy that no other weapon can achieve,” the 60th Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Facebook post. It also posted a video.
Nicholas Drummond, a defence industry analyst specialising in land warfare and a former UK Army officer, told CNN that using a drone strike of such a sort “is quite innovative”.
Quote from Nicholas Drummond: “But used in that way its effect will have been psychological more than physical.”
Drummond does not believe that the use of such drones can change the course of hostilities. But the thermite gives Russian forces another reason to be wary of Ukrainian drones, he said.
CNN writes that thermite can easily burn through almost anything, including metal, so there is little protection against it. It was discovered by a German chemist in the 1890s and was initially used to weld railway tracks. But its military effectiveness soon became apparent: the Germans dropped it over the UK during the First World War. Both Germany and the Allies used thermite bombs in World War II.
The UK-based anti-war advocacy group Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) reports Ukraine has already used thermite dropped from drones to disable Russian tanks.
Thermite is just one type of known incendiary weapon, others being napalm and white phosphorus. The UN Office for Disarmament Affairs reiterates that incendiary weapons can cause massive destruction and environmental damage.
Under international law, thermite is not prohibited for use in hostilities, but its use on civilian objects is prohibited due to the terrible consequences it can have on the human body, CNN writes.
It is noted that Ukraine accused the Russians of using incendiary munitions against civilian objects at the beginning of the full-scale war, including the case in the village of Cherkaski Tyshky in Kharkiv Oblast in May 2022.
The Ukrainian military has also accused Russia of using incendiary substances during an attack on Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, last year.
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