Ukraine's dragon drones: Unleashing Thermite on Russian forces

In recent weeks, Ukrainians have begun using dragon drones to target Russian forces. These drones are not only effective in destroying exposed trenches, but a skilled pilot can also use them to "clear" a concrete bunker of enemy soldiers. Here's how it works.

Dragon drones are new to Ukraine and employ thermite as a destructive agent, which incinerates everything it contacts. While a controversial weapon, thermite is permissible under certain conditions.

In the past, dragon drones were used to destroy Russian positions in tree lines. Below, you can see how a FPV drone pilot flies a thermite bomblet into the interior of a concrete bunker. The Russian soldiers inside were almost certainly killed.

The destructive element of dragon drones is thermite, a substance that is well-known in welding and that was used in incendiary weapons during World War II. Thermite is a mixture of powdered aluminum and iron oxide (rust), with an added igniter like magnesium. This igniter is crucial because thermite ignition requires approximately 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit).

Once ignited, however, thermite burns at temperatures exceeding 3,000 degrees Celsius (5,432 degrees Fahrenheit). The chemical reaction is extraordinarily violent, resulting in molten metal flung around the immediate area. Additionally, thermite cannot be extinguished by cutting off its oxygen supply, as oxidation occurs within the mixture.

To make matters worse, trying to extinguish burning thermite with water can have catastrophic effects. Due to the extremely high reaction temperature, water molecules decompose into oxygen and hydrogen, creating an explosive gas in the right mixture with oxygen. Therefore, in practice, it is advised to let thermite burn out, but by that time, it may have already burned through thick reinforced concrete structures.

Depending on the application, Ukrainians are using ceramic welding buckets suspended under drones or thermite bomblets derived from the incendiary warheads of cluster munitions. An example of the latter is the ZAB-2.5T bomblets used in certain versions of RBK aerial bombs.