Flames from above: How new drones are shaping the conflict in Ukraine

Story by thedailydigest.com

• 14h

These drones are scary

Since Russia's invasion, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have repeatedly demonstrated their ingenuity in creating new weapons, but their latest development is especially terrifying.

Ukraine has new flamethrowing drones©Provided by The Daily Digest

An unknown type and number of combat drones have been rigged with the ability to launch an incendiary mixture, which means these drones were essentially turned into flying flamethrowers. But it gets worse.

A concoction made of thermite powder©Provided by The Daily Digest

The incendiary concoction cooked up in Ukraine is reportedly a powdered metal mixture of thermite that produces overly high temperatures when burned according to Militarnyi.

Thermite can burn at high temperatures

Militarnyi reported that thermite powder was most likely the incendiary used and it added such a mixture could burn at temperatures of 2400° Celsius or 4352° Fahrenheit.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Schuyler S., Own Work, CC BY-SA 2.5

A recent attack captured on video

Combat footage capturing the power of Ukraine’s new flamethrower drone was captured during a recent mission that saw one of the weapons attack a Russian position hiding along a treeline.

Photo Credit: Telegram @kiber_boroshno

The 108th Territorial Defense Brigade

Soldiers of the 108th Territorial Defense Brigade were the masterminds of the attack, which took place somewhere in Zaporizhzhia but other reports suggest may have occurred in Donetsk.

Photo Credit: Telegram @kiber_boroshno

Soldiers of the No Chance Сompany

“The No Chance Сompany of Strike Drones used a drone with an unusual warhead to burn down a position in a forest belt located on the front line,” Militarnyi reported.

Photo Credit: Telegram @kiber_boroshno

What the video shows

The video of the attack shows what happened from the perspective of the drone used in the assault, as well as from another drone that captured the power of the new weapons from afar as the attack drone swept across the forested Russian position dropping molten thermite.

Photo Credit: Telegram @kiber_boroshno

Smoke plumbs and big fires

Large plums of smoke developed where the thermite mixture was dropped and fire in those areas ignited almost immediately before intensifying and quickly growing larger.

How did the attack affect Russian troops?©Provided by The Daily Digest

How the attack may have affected Russian troops manning their defensive positions is not known but the thermite drone assault appeared to be very effective at burning the area.

Thermite can melt metal

Newsweek reported that when thermite is ignited it can get hot enough to melt through steel but added that the risk to soldiers from the mixture is minimal if they don’t look up.

Photo Credit: Telegram @kiber_boroshno

The mixture has its limitations

“Thermite has limitations as an incendiary weapon due to its small area of effect. Unlike other incendiaries that burn instantly, a thermite reaction heats a small area,” reported Newsweek.

Photo Credit: Telegram @kiber_boroshno

The risk to Russian soldiers

The real risk for soldiers in a thermite attack comes from the fires that the metal ignites because they can be hard to put out due to the temperatures at which the metal burns.

Photo Credit: Telegram @kiber_boroshno

Fires are the real danger©Provided by The Daily Digest

Fires can force soldiers out of their positions and this new tactic could prove very helpful in the dense treelines that now harbor defensive positions and break up large and open fields all across the flat eastern regions of Ukraine.

Why the new tactic is important

“These tree lines offer essential cover in a conflict constantly monitored by drones, with the Russian army fortifying its forward defenses along these natural barriers,” Newsweek’s Jesus Mesa explained.

Photo Credit: Telegram @kiber_boroshno

Ukraine has a new effective weapon

“The use of thermite-dispensing drones has shown to be effective in military applications, though incendiary weapons [pose] significant risks if deployed near civilian populations,” Mesa added.

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Photo Credit: Telegram @kiber_boroshno