Russia’s risky tactics: Dismantling grenades amid drone crisis
The war in Ukraine presents many unusual scenarios, one of which is the Russian practice of dismantling grenades with a hammer. They are currently facing a shortage of explosive devices for drones and are trying to address this gap with makeshift methods.
Recently, the Russians have been experiencing a "munition hunger", resulting in a shortage of explosives for FPV drones. Much like the Ukrainians, the Russians use grenades or bomblets from cluster munitions for this purpose. However, their supplies appear to be dwindling as they have taken to dismantling RGN and RGO grenades to obtain explosive material.
The dismantling process involves striking a secured grenade with an axe or a hammer, splitting it into two halves. The powdered explosive material inside is then poured into a nearby bucket.
RGO and RGN grenades — a new arrival that didn't replace the old
RGO (defensive) and RGN (offensive) grenades were introduced into the Soviet military in the 1980s, intended as successors to the F-1 and RGD-5 grenades. They were designed to feature a more effective fuse and, in the RGN's case, a smaller shrapnel range.
The heart of both RGO and RGN grenades is the UDZ fuse, a percussion-activated mechanism that triggers after striking an obstacle. The delay in such cases is approximately one second. Additionally, the fuse includes a self-destruct mechanism, detonating the grenade about three seconds after arming—a useful feature for situations like landing on sand or mud.
The fuse is surrounded by roughly three ounces of hexogen, an explosive material, enclosed in a cast body. This construction differs with each grenade type; the offensive RGN, weighing 11 ounces, has a smooth, thin shell designed for a lethal shrapnel range of about 33 feet.
In contrast, the defensive RGO grenade, weighing 19 ounces, has a thicker, notched shell to increase the number of fragments. Officially, the RGO grenade's effective range is 52 feet, although the Russians claim it to be much greater.
The grenades were not mass-produced due to the vast reserves of older designs and were typically allocated to units broadly defined as Spetsnaz. It seems now the Russians are using them for FPV drones. The explosive material is repurposed to create larger warheads, while the fuse is modified, removing the UDZ delay and self-destruct mechanism.
