Raise the degree: drones with flamethrowers will enter the troops

They will also be armed with thermobaric ammunition for the destruction of enemy fortified areas

In the interests of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, a new line of drones equipped with suspended thermobaric and incendiary ammunition and flamethrowers is being developed, sources told Izvestia in the Russian Defense Ministry. Some of the products are already in a high degree of readiness, and in the near future they will be sent to the RCBZ troops for trial operation. Experts believe that drones with thermobaric ammunition will be used to destroy fortified areas — they are much more effective than high-explosive ones, destroying pre-equipped enemy firing points.

Thermobaric ruler

In the interests of the radiation, chemical and biological protection troops, a whole line of unmanned systems designed to dump thermobaric and incendiary ammunition is being developed, sources in the Russian Defense Ministry told Izvestia.

We are talking about multicopter unmanned systems, as well as aircraft-type UAVs. In addition to special drop bombs, all drones will be armed with modified anti—personnel flamethrowers - their design will allow strikes in flight.

According to the interlocutors of Izvestia, some of the products are already in a high degree of readiness and in the near future they will be sent to the RCBZ troops for trial operation.

Earlier, Igor Kirillov, the head of the RCBZ troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, reported that work is underway to create a new flamethrower-incendiary complex based on UAVs.

A serviceman of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launches an unmanned aerial vehicle of an airplane type in the zone of its

Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti

Thermobaric ammunition has a greater destructive power in a certain area than high-explosive, chemical weapons expert Oleg Zheltonozhko told Izvestia.

— The munition operates on the principle of detonating a cloud of gaseous explosive, which spreads over a certain area before detonation, — the expert explained. — It can be used when hitting objects such as a defense stronghold, trenches, dugouts. If high-explosive ammunition acts at a certain point, then the thermobaric covers the whole area at once. A decent area is affected by the shock wave, and both to the area and to the depth: it acts on the parapet of the trench, and on its bottom, and on the embrasure of the pillbox, and on the moves of the message.

The expert noted that UAVs will increase the efficiency of using thermobaric ammunition.

— The drone hovers directly above or next to the object, and the ammunition released from it should accurately hit the target, — Oleg Zheltonozhko believes. — When destroying a certain area of defense, this will help significantly reduce the consumption of ammunition.

A serviceman of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation shoots from a rocket-propelled infantry flamethrower RPO-A "Bumblebee" during combat training at one of the ranges in the zone of a special military operation

Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexey Maishev

In general, greater efficiency will be achieved by choosing a more suitable ammunition for destroying fortifications and aiming it directly from the UAV, he concluded.

Thermobaric bombs can also be used on manpower in an open area, military expert Viktor Murakhovsky told Izvestia.

— In other words, they can work in the same place where our FPV drones are being used now - in manpower, in trenches, in dugouts, — he explained.

UAVs in battle

Domestic UAVs capable of carrying high-precision weapons have long been used in the special operation zone. The first video of the combat operation of such drones appeared back in March 2022.

The military department showed footage using an aircraft-type UAV "Outpost". They struck high-precision missiles at the armored vehicles of the VFU, warehouses with weapons and ammunition.

The "outpost" attacked from medium and low altitudes. The results of the liquidation of military facilities and equipment were recorded by means of objective control, the military department reported.

At the same time, they showed how the "Outpost" destroyed a radar of the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system near the Ukrainian village of Vypolzov north of Kiev.

Thermobaric charges, which are small in power, are already being used to strike enemy positions: in the last few months, videos of the destruction of dugouts and shelters of the VFU with their help have begun to appear on the Internet. However, the details of such attacks are not disclosed.

Earlier, Izvestia wrote that a whole family of light ammunition created specifically for drones has been developed and tested in practice. In particular, the X-UAV missile was made on the basis of the modified anti-tank missile system "Kornet". It can be manufactured both in a cumulative version for the destruction of armored vehicles, and in high-explosive fragmentation and even thermobaric.

The laser beam guidance system allows you to attack low-speed aerial targets, including other heavy drones and helicopters. Such ammunition can be used not only by "Outpost-RU", but also by "Pacer".

Test flight of the UAV "Outpost"

Image source: Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

The strike version of the Forpost-RU UAV with air–to-surface guided missiles was first shown at the Army-2021 international military-technical forum. Two containers with guided missiles, a satellite communication antenna, as well as a targeting and surveillance system were installed on the drone. The flight altitude of this UAV is 5.9 km, the duration is at least 10 hours. At the same time, it was reported that two sets of attack drones "Outpost-RU" have already been delivered to the troops.

It is known that UAVs can also use other ammunition — anti-tank. In particular, a supersonic missile "Whirlwind-M" is being tested on the "Pacer". During the special operation, it proved itself well during strikes from domestic Mi-28NM and Ka-52 attack helicopters.

The use of shock UAVs was practiced even before the start of the SVO at the landfills. During the Zapad-2021 exercises, it was shown how the Pacer and Swallow attack drones destroy well-camouflaged enemy objects from the air.

Alexey Ramm

Roman Kretsul