Knowledge Nugget of the day: Dragon drones

Key Takeaways :

1. Dragon drones essentially release a substance called thermite — a mixture of aluminium and iron oxide — developed a century ago to weld railroad tracks.

2. When ignited (usually with the help of an electrical fuse), thermite triggers a self-sustaining reaction that is quite difficult to extinguish. It can burn through almost anything, from clothes to trees to military-grade vehicles, and can even burn underwater.

3. Dragon drones are believed to have been first deployed in the Russia-Ukraine war around September. According to a report by The New York Times, Ukrainian forces used them to “ignite the vegetation that Russian troops use for cover and burn it out, exposing them and their equipment to direct attack.” Soon, the Russians too began to produce and deploy their dragon drones.

Videos have emerged across various social media platforms showing these fire-spewing ‘dragon drones’ burning trees and reportedly some Russian military vehicles. (Photo: Screengrab from Video on X/@Nastushichek)

4. According to a 2022 report on incendiary weapons, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called thermite “notorious for their horrific human cost,” including inflicting fourth- or fifth-degree burns.  “They can cause damage to muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves, blood vessels, and even bones,” HRW stated. Other incendiary weapons includes napalm and white phosphorus which have been used since World War I.

5. The use of thermite in war is not prohibited under international law. However, the use of such incendiary weapons against civilian targets is barred under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons — Cold War-era guidance issued under the auspices of the United Nations.

6. “The problem with thermite is that it is rather indiscriminate. Therefore, while it is not banned per se, Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons actually limits its use to strictly military targets, given the fact that this munition can produce severe burns and respiratory injuries.” Marina Miron, a military expert from King’s College London, told DW.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: Thermite

7.  Thermite was used in both world wars. During World War I, German zeppelins dropped thermite-laden bombs which were considered an innovation at the time.

8. By World War II, thermite-laden high incendiary explosives became a part and parcel of both the Allies and Axis forces’ aerial bombing campaigns. According to some estimates, the Allies dropped some 30 million 4-pound thermite bombs on Germany and another 10 million on Japan during World War II. Thermite hand grenades were also used during the war to disable artillery pieces, without an explosion.

9. In modern conflict, thermite is most often used by espionage agents, or special operations teams due to its ability to burn intensely but without a bang.

How is the Russia-Ukraine War a “new” kind of war?

Nandan Unnikrishnan writes—

“This (Russia-Ukraine war) is not the kind of blitzkrieg that, let’s say, we have seen the Americans do in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in other places, where there’s a shock-and-awe element — send a lot of airplanes, missiles, take out the enemy’s air defences, and then march in triumphantly and take over the country.

In Ukraine, the Russians met with a fairly resolute defence. And when they realised that this was going to be a longer war, they readjusted their tactics to that assessment.

One example is that of drones. Ukrainian drones initially had very significant successes. The Russians understood that — and not only did they adopt the use of drones themselves, they also found ways to defend against drones. So occasionally a drone will still go deep inside Russia, but they are not able to inflict the kind of damage they did in the first few months of the war.”

(Sources: What Ukraine has been using to attack Russian positions in Kharkiv? (IE), Dragon drones (IE), An Expert Explains: Russia-Ukraine war(IE))

Previous Knowledge Nugget : Nihon Hidankyo

For your queries and suggestions write at roshni.yadav@indianexpress.com

Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week.

Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – Indian Express UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.