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according to a report on the us newsweek website on september 2, a recent social media video showed that a ukrainian military drone sprayed hot, bright liquid metal into the woods where the enemy might be hiding, igniting fires wherever it passed and causing secondary explosions of weapons and ammunition in the forest. some analysts said that the ukrainian side may have dropped thermite.

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in 1893, german chemist goldschmidt accidentally discovered the thermite reaction. thermite is usually made of a mixture of aluminum powder and iron oxide, which can burn underwater and produce a temperature of over 2000 degrees celsius, which can liquefy steel or even turn it into gas.

thermite burns violently and fires are extremely difficult to control, so the western military soon realized its war potential. in 1915, a german zeppelin airship dropped a thermite incendiary bomb on london, thus opening pandora's box.

schematic diagram of a drone dropping a thermite bomb. photo/screenshot of the british website "against armed violence"

during world war ii, thermite could be seen on major battlefields from north africa to europe. especially after it was made into grenades, it could be regarded as an anti-armor weapon for infantry.

by releasing huge amounts of heat in a short period of time, a thermite grenade can burn out the steel breech block and melt the engine block, rendering enemy artillery and tanks directly scrapped.

but thermite is also very dangerous. once the human body comes into contact with it, it may not only cause extensive burns, but also cause respiratory damage, infection, dehydration and organ failure due to inhalation of toxic fumes, leaving lifelong damage.

according to the official website of mcgill university, during the vietnam war, the u.s. military used thermite bombs to burn large tracts of farmland, vegetation and houses, causing immeasurable damage to the lives and property of local people.

the us may provide thermite bombs to ukraine

after the end of the cold war, the united states stopped producing thermite bombs for a time.

however, after the outbreak of the russian-ukrainian conflict, the us announced in october 2023 that it would resume manufacturing an-m14 thermite grenades, with a production of 72,000 pieces. foreign media believe that "some of them may have flowed into ukraine."

the american-made an-m14 thermite grenade. photo/screenshot from the u.s. army's official website

according to the u.s. army's official website, this type of grenade burns for 40 seconds and can burn through a 12 mm homogeneous steel plate, which exceeds the thickness of the hull of most light armored vehicles.

in addition to direct external assistance, according to the ukrainian defense express website, the country's military-industrial enterprises have also begun to use western equipment and technology to make their own thermite ammunition.

the "iron wasp" company is a ukrainian private arms manufacturer that develops drone weapon systems. the thermite bombs it produces through 3d printing weigh less than 500 grams at the smallest and about 2.5 kilograms at the largest.

it is reported that the former of these two types of ammunition can burn through thin steel plates within 10 seconds, while the latter can burn through steel plates with a thickness of more than 6 mm and leave a large hole of about 10 centimeters.

in order to improve the accuracy of the strike, the "iron hornet" also installed magnetic components on the thermite bomb, and recommended the use of ultra-low altitude dropping below 30 meters to prevent the bomb from bouncing off the target.

a fatal "innovation"

various signs indicate that with the connivance and support of the united states and the west, thermite ammunition is being deployed on a large scale on the battlefield between russia and ukraine.

according to the forbes magazine website, in a combat video released by ukraine in late june this year, there was a scene of a "special drone" using thermite ammunition.

the video showed that after the ukrainian drone hit a building covered with corrugated metal tiles, it hissed like fireworks, sparks flew, and quickly burned through the metal roof.

military experts pointed out that the above characteristics are consistent with the characteristics of thermite bombs - rarely explode, not much smoke, and high temperature burning.

the us newsweek website also stated that thermite bombs have become "one of the favorite weapons" of ukrainian pilots.

the ukrainian side released a picture of thermite in combat. photo/screenshot from the website of forbes magazine

in addition, in july this year, the us media "accurately predicted" that ukraine "will use thermite to attack russian energy facilities more and more frequently."

more than a month later, refineries, oil depots and substations in russia were indeed subjected to large-scale continuous attacks by more than 150 drones.

as for the recent use of drones to spray thermite to burn forests, western media even claimed that this was "a military innovation."