Dragon drones: The fearsome new weapon in Ukraine's arsenal
With the beginning of September, information about new Ukrainian weaponry surfaced in the media. The Dragon Drone, as the new invention was named, was said to attack with a stream of fire. As it turned out, the Ukrainians equipped their drones with thermite charges, which, when burning, eject a shower of molten metal.
A Dragon Drone attack can inspire fear. From the low-flying unmanned aerial vehicle emerges an impressive column of fire and sparks, igniting everything in its flight path. Contrary to initial assumptions, Dragon Drones are not flying flamethrowers but carriers of thermite charges. What is this substance, and how does it work?
Thermite is a mixture of powdered aluminium and metal oxides, most commonly iron oxide, mixed in a mass ratio of about 1:3. To ignite it, a temperature of around 1,000 degrees Celsius is required, which is why special initiators are used for this task, including those based on nitrate.
Once ignited, thermite burns at a temperature of 3,000-3,800 degrees Celsius. For this reason, it cannot be extinguished with water – attempting to douse burning thermite will result in an additional explosion, thermal decomposition of water, and burning of the contained hydrogen. As described by Wirtualna Polska journalist Przemysław Juraszek, the safe method of extinguishing thermite is to allow it to burn out completely.
The properties of thermite have found applications in industry, where it is used, among other things, for welding, as well as in the military. For years, thermite charges have been used for the quick but silent destruction of military equipment – instead of blasting it with explosives, it is enough to destroy key elements – for example, the gun lock – by placing and igniting a thermite grenade in them.
Thermite has also made its way into Ukrainian drones. As can be seen in publicly available videos, during the drone's flight, not only fire but also showers of sparks, which are drops of molten iron, emerge from beneath it.
Thermite-loaded missiles
Thermite as a combat charge is used not only by Ukrainians. It is also the charge in 122-mm, 9M22S cluster munitions fired from BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers.
The 9M22S missile contains 180 pieces of submunitions in the form of magnesium-ignited portions of thermite, burning for about 2 minutes. The total mass of this substance in the case of the 9M22S reaches nearly 6 kilograms. Such missiles have been used by the Russians, among others, during the attack on the Azovstal plant in Mariupol.
