Russian forces have begun using drones modeled after Ukraine’s “Dragon Fire” thermite-spewing UAV, using technology reportedly stolen from Ukrainian designs, according to a Forbes report, citing Russian military bloggers and defense experts.
In early September, the Ukrainian military introduced a new type of drone that was soon dubbed as “Dragon Fire,” designed to fly low and slow over enemy positions while deploying thermite – an incendiary mix of powdered aluminum and ferrous oxide (rust) that burns at temperatures that can reach 3,000 degrees Celsius (5,400 Fahrenheit).
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The drone attacks using the flamethrower effect caused by burning thermite to ignite tree lines, foliage and other flammable material such as camouflage netting that provides cover for troops.
Now, the Russian Armed Forces seem to have also integrated Dragon-type drones into their operations, utilizing them in their latest offensive against Vuhledar in the Donetsk region.
On Wednesday, Sept. 25, several Russian military bloggers shared a video credited to Moscow’s Vostok battalion. The video allegedly shows Russian copycat Dragon drones igniting a tree line near the severely damaged Donetsk region’s mining town of Vuhledar.
Ukrainian troops from the army’s 72nd Mechanized Brigade had presumably constructed a defensive position under those trees.
“I haven’t seen our units use something like this before,” a Russian blogger commented about the thermite-equipped drone. “I’ve seen it used by the enemy. If this is our first time deploying such a method ... well, boys, now we’re playing the same game.”
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The US Army, which also possesses thermite drones, indicates that soldiers have only 3 to 10 seconds to escape a thermite drone attack.
“Combat soldiers on the battlefield never try to fight flame/thermal hazards down, but rather escape from them as soon as possible,” a US Army report on the use of such drones states.
If one retreats too slowly, the chances of survival decrease significantly. The Army report says that “fast-spreading flames can strike a target directly.” Additionally, “when adhesive or cohesive fuels come into contact with protective clothing, the chances of survival are minimal.”
The video showing Russian troops deploying their version of a thermite carrying first-person view (FPV) “dragon drone” for the first time appeared on social media on Sept. 11.
Pro-Moscow military journalist Andrey Medvedev claimed the footage showed a soldier from Russia’s “Omut Group” UAV unit attaching a canister that resembles the thermite sub-munition from an artillery round to a quadcopter drone before launching it, allegedly toward a Ukrainian position.
The video then intercuts between the operator’s view of the drone flying over a tree line and a third-party drone’s view of it dispensing the burning substance, supposedly above a Ukrainian defensive position.
As mentioned in Kyiv Post analysis, compared with the earlier videos of the Ukrainian dragon drones in action, such as those posted on Kyiv Post on Sept. 4 and Sept.8, this Russian version was underwhelming.
Rather than Kyiv’s “fire spewing drones” the Moscow version emitted a dribble of sparks that seem to cause very little, if any, real damage. It seems that since then the Kremlin’s forces have solved those initial problems.
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