(CNN) – Ukraine appears to be turning to a fleet of fire-breathing “dragon drones” in its war against Russian invaders, putting a modern spin on a munition used to horrific effect in both world wars.
A series of videos posted Wednesday on social media, including the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Telegram, show low-flying drones dropping torrents of fire – actually molten metal – on Russian-controlled positions in tree lines. .
The red-hot mixture of aluminum powder and iron oxide, called thermite, burns at temperatures of up to 2,200 degrees Celsius. It can quickly burn trees and vegetation that provide cover for Russian troops, or even kill or disable them.
Falling from the drone, the thermite resembles the fire coming out of the mythical dragon’s mouth, giving the drones their nickname.
“Attack drones are our wings of vengeance, bringing fire straight from the sky,” read a social media message from Ukraine’s 60th Mechanized Brigade.
According to Nicholas Drummond, a defense industry analyst specializing in land warfare and former British Army officer, the main effect of the Ukrainian thermite drones is likely to create that kind of fear.
“It is something very unpleasant. Using a drone to launch it is quite innovative. But used in that way its effect will have been more psychological than physical,” Drummond told CNN.
“My understanding is that Ukraine only has a limited capability to deliver a thermite effect, so this is a niche capability rather than a new widely used weapon,” he said.
But he recognizes the terror that the termite can create.
“I wouldn’t have wanted to be on the receiving end,” Drummond said.
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Thermite can easily burn almost anything, including metal, so there is little protection against it.
It was discovered by a German chemist in the 1890s and was originally used for welding railroad tracks.
But its military power soon became evident, and the Germans dropped it from zeppelins like bombs on Britain in World War I, according to a history from McGill University in Montreal.
Both Germany and the Allies used thermite aerial bombs in World War II, and they also used it to disable captured artillery pieces by placing thermite in the stock and melting the weapon from the inside.
“They become a true threat to the enemy, burning their positions with a precision that no other weapon can match,” the message continued.
According to Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), a British anti-war advocacy group, Ukraine has previously used drone-launched thermite to permanently disable Russian tanks.
The termite is launched “straight through the hatches, where the intense heat ignites quickly and destroys everything inside,” an AOAV report says.
“This precision, combined with the ability of drones to evade traditional defenses, makes thermite bombs a very effective tool in modern warfare,” the report states.
Thermite is only one type of incendiary weapon, with others such as napalm and white phosphorus.
The United Nations Disarmament Office says incendiary weapons can cause mass destruction and environmental damage.
“Fires produced by the weapon itself or ignited by it are difficult to predict and contain. “Incendiary weapons are therefore often described as ‘area weapons’ due to their impact over a wide area,” he says on his website.
The United States used napalm to burn much of the Japanese capital in the infamous Tokyo arson attacks during World War II. It was also used extensively by US forces in Vietnam.
The US military has also used thermite in grenades, and the US Army’s Pine Bluff Arsenal produced these weapons from the 1960s until 2014 and resumed production again in 2023.
Under international law, thermite is not banned for military combat, but its use on civilian targets is prohibited due to the horrific effects it can have on the human body.
In a 2022 report on incendiary weapons such as thermite, Human Rights Watch called them “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 noted.
Treatment can last months and require daily attention. If victims survive, they are left with physical and psychological scars, HRW said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow’s initial offensive in Ukraine stopped short of capturing the capital, Kyiv, and the sides have fought over much of the same territory for most of of the war.
Ukrainian forces, outnumbered and outgunned by Russia, have proven adept at innovating small drones to crush Moscow’s troops and equipment.
A Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory near Kursk in August surprised Putin and has increased Ukrainian confidence that it can prevail in the war.
Kyiv has accused Russian forces of using unspecified incendiary munitions against civilian targets in the early stages of the war, including a village outside Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, in May 2022.
CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh passed through that town, Cherkaski Tyshky, shortly after a Russian attack and described a scene of “houses, fields, even the very air, on fire.”
Ukrainian officials also accused Russia of using incendiary munitions in attacks on the town of Bakhmut last year.
Those uses of incendiary munitions have not led to a quick victory for Russia, and Drummond does not believe they will be a battlefield game-changer for Ukraine either.
“If Ukraine wants to make a real impact, it needs enough mass to force a proper advance, as it has done at Kursk. “This is what victory looks like,” Drummond said.
But the termite gives Russian troops another reason to fear Ukrainian drones, he said.
“We have seen cases where Russian forces attacked by multiple drones have abandoned their positions. The more Ukraine can instill fear of drones, the better its chances of success,” he said.
“The termite maintains the pressure.”
