Ukraine deploys devastating 2,500-degree "dragon drones" in forest attacks
The Russian section of the BBC has analysed recordings published in recent days by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The videos depict advanced drones that do not simply drop bombs or fly directly into their targets. Instead, these drones burn everything in their path using an incendiary mixture that reaches approximately 2,500 degrees Celsius. These "Dragon drones" have caused panic among Russian soldiers.
Trees provided natural cover for ground troops for a while. Now, the forests where soldiers hide can become deadly traps. This is all due to new drones used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces for a week.
2,500 degrees Celsius
As the BBC writes, in early September, blogs related to the war in Ukraine featured videos showing drones dropping flammable substances on forests. As stated in the annotations, the Ukrainian Armed Forces allegedly fought the Russian military while hiding under tree canopies.
The BBC explains that trees really do help soldiers move covertly, but staying in a forest becomes dangerous if a fire breaks out.
Channel 24, which accessed the drones' technical specifications, found that in just 20 seconds, a drone can set a strip of forest 100 metres long ablaze.
Destroys military equipment, detonates ammunition
The substance dropped by the drones is called thermite. It is a powdered mixture of aluminium or magnesium with oxides of certain metals – most commonly iron. When ignited, such a mixture burns, releasing a large amount of heat - up to 2,500 degrees Celsius. Extinguishing such a fire is very difficult.
The BBC warns that the substance can cause more than a forest fire. If military equipment is dusted with the mixture, it can be destroyed. Thermite is also dangerous for a field depot because it will lead to its detonation.
This mixture has been used before in drones, though in a slightly different way – both the Russian and Ukrainian military used to drop incendiary ammunition from drones.
The BBC notes that combat use produces impressive results—drones drop a burning incendiary mixture, which starts a forest fire. However, open sources do not provide information on the serious consequences of such operations.
Russian propagandists also write about the effectiveness of the drones. "If the goal is to burn everything and everyone, forests, positions, soldiers, units, then this is an effective weapon. Especially now, when serious fires are raging in the Donbas," writes the channel "Veteran's Notes."
"What's important here is something else: the enemy is inventing something new again, testing, observing, drawing conclusions, and improving. There is no way to stay behind," the channel adds.
