Russian forces resort to dismantling grenades amid ammo crisis
The war in Ukraine is marked by various unusual situations, and one such example is the Russians using hammers to dismantle grenades. They are currently facing a shortage of drone munitions and are resorting to makeshift methods to address the issue.
The Russians are reportedly experiencing a recent "ammunition shortage", leading to a lack of munitions for FPV drones. Like the Ukrainians, the Russians resort to using grenades or bomblets from cluster munitions for this purpose. However, these resources also appear to be dwindling, prompting them to dismantle RGN and RGO grenades to extract explosives.
The dismantling involves tapping a secured grenade with an axe or a hammer, causing it to split into two halves. The powdered explosive material inside is then collected in a nearby bucket.
RGO and RGN grenades — new additions that didn't replace the old ones
RGO (defensive) and RGN (offensive) grenades were introduced to the Soviet armed forces in the 1980s as successors to F-1 and RGD-5 grenades. They were intended to feature a more effective fuse and, in the case of the RGN version, a reduced shrapnel range.
The key component of the RGO and RGN grenades is the UDZ fuse, a percussion design that activates only after bouncing off an obstacle. The delay in such a case was about one second. The fuse was also equipped with a self-destruct mechanism that detonates the grenade approximately three seconds after arming, which is useful if it lands on surfaces like sand or mud.
The fuse is surrounded by about 85 grams of powdered hexogen (explosive material) enclosed in a cast body. This varies depending on the grenade version, as the offensive RGN grenade, weighing around 310 grams, features a smooth and thin shell to meet a requirement for a lethal range of approximately 10 metres.
In contrast, the defensive RGO grenade, weighing about 540 grams, has a thicker, scored shell to increase the number of fragments. Officially, the blast radius of the RGO grenade is about 16 metres, though the Russians claimed their range is significantly greater.
The grenades were not mass-produced due to large stockpiles of older designs and were mainly issued to units broadly referred to as Spetsnaz. Now, it seems the Russians are using them as components for FPV drones, with the explosive material creating larger warheads, and the UDZ fuse being modified to remove its delay and self-destruct function.
