Ukraine using "dragon drones" with molten metal on battlefield – CNN

The Ukrainian military is using "dragon drones" that employ molten metal as payload against the Russians on the battlefield, CNN reports.

Source: CNN

Details: The CNN report says Ukraine appears 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 the 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 British Army officer, told CNN that using this sort of drone strike "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 the hostilities. But the thermite gives Russian forces another reason to be wary of Ukrainian drones, he said.

CNN notes 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 Britain during the First World War. Both Germany and the Allies used thermite bombs in World War II.

According to UK-based anti-war advocacy group Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), Ukraine has already used thermite dropped from drones to disable Russian tanks.

Thermite is just one type of known incendiary weapon – others include napalm and white phosphorus. The UN Office for Disarmament Affairs says 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 targets is banned due to the terrible consequences it can have on the human body, CNN says.

The report notes that Ukraine accused the Russians of using incendiary munitions against civilian targets early on in the full-scale war, including one case in the village of Cherkaski Tyshky, 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.

Update: Two Ukrainska Pravda sources from different units that use drones with thermite mixture said that such weapons are mainly used to destroy Russian infantry that have taken cover in strips of forest.

They are not separate fire-spewing drones, but regular FPVs to which a container of thermite mixture is attached. The principle of operation is as follows: the FPV drone lifts the container into the air, flies to the forest, ignites the mixture above the forest, pours it through the opening, and ideally returns to the base.

Support UP or become our patron!