God Help Any Russians Who Find Themselves Directly Underneath a Thermite-Spewing Ukrainian Dragon Drone
The incendiary mix burns hotter than 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit
In early September, the first videos appeared online depicting a new kind of Ukrainian drone: a so-called “dragon drone” that spews incendiary thermite like, well, a fire-breathing dragon.
The dragon drones are proliferating. In just the last week, they’ve appeared in multiple sectors of the front line in eastern Ukraine. It seems the Ukrainians usually deploy the drones against Russian trenches inside treelines.
The damage can be significant. One Russian soldier shot a video of his position in the aftermath of a dragon raid, noting the “huge hole” in his trench’s camouflage netting from a drone spewing “napalm or something.”
It’s not napalm, which is jellied gasoline and requires a separate flame to ignite it. Thermite and other metal incendiaries are pyrotechnic compositions of metal powder and metal oxide and “create fire spontaneously upon exposure to air or intense heat,” according to a 2000 U.S. Army report.
“A flame/incendiary may also be classified either as an intensive type or as a scatter type,” according to the report. Considering how concentrated the dragon drones’ thermite “breath” is, it’s apparent the Ukrainians consider it an intensive weapon.
“The intensive agents are designed for use against materials and buildings of low combustibility,” the U.S. Army explained. “For this purpose, it is necessary that they burn at a very high temperature and that their fire be held in a compact mass.”
It’s unclear exactly how the dragon drones deploy their mixes of metal powder and metal oxide. But it’s clear these mixes burn very very hot—as hot as 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit.
God help any Russians who are directly underneath a dragon drone’s thermite spray. “Sprayed flame with velocity could hit a target directly,” the report noted “When the adhesive or cohesive fuels hit the protective clothing, the likelihood of survival would be very small.”
If there’s a downside to thermite-spewing drones, it’s that the effect is shocking and lethal—but brief. “A flame/incendiary weapon explodes or ignites in the first one-minute period,” according to the report.
This stage evolves a large amount of thermal energy and high pressure. This first stage comes usually without any notice or warning. Most warriors exposed to this explosion stage at close distance have [a] rare chance to survive. After a minute, the ignited fuel develops into the next secondary fire stage. All combustible materials around are ignited and burn together. This is the typical characteristic of flash-over or flash fire. When no more combustible materials are available, the fire starts to die off to get into the regression stage.
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