In early March, the British Ministry of Defense Ben Wallace accused the army of Russian invaders of preparing to use thermobaric artillery systems against Ukraine.
– How far (Vladimir Putin, – Ed.) enters, what weapons he will allow to use to achieve his goal is unknown, but we have seen the use of a huge amount of artillery. We have seen the deployment of thermobaric artillery systems, and we are worried about how widespread its use can be,” Wallace said during his visit to Estonia during a visit to Estonia.
Before him, about the deployment of OS- 1 was also reported by the CNN TV channel.
And already on March 9, the aggressors of the Russian Federation through the propaganda channel of the Ministry of Defense called Zvezda “bragged” that the Russian military used the TOS-1A “Solntsepek” against the Ukrainian army on March 4.
What are Russian thermobaric weapons
Thermobaric bombs are considered one of the most effective in combat against fortified areas and cities.
In particular, this is due to their extreme destructive power, which is formed due to the especially high temperature of the fire cloud and excessive pressure.
Specialized publications and experts note that thermobaric weapons cause much more damage than conventional missile strikes.
It is also called aerosol bombs or air-fuel explosives. It is specified that these are two-stage ammunition.
Development of thermobaric weapons in Russia
There are a number of places in Russia that are developing thermobaric weapons. This, for example, is the Tula Arms Plant, which is part of the Russian state company Rostec.
He announced the production of the 9M1133F-1 anti-tank missile with a thermobaric high-explosive fragmentation warhead back in 2019.
9M133F-1 missiles are launched by Russian anti-missile systems Kornet. In January 2019, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that another combat vehicle armed with the Kornet anti-tank missile system was undergoing state tests for the Airborne Forces. It is a Kornet-D1 self-propelled anti-tank missile system mounted on the chassis of a BMD-4M airborne combat vehicle.
It is reported that the Kornet anti-tank missile system, developed by the Shipunov Instrument Design Bureau, can hit tanks and other armored targets.
At the end of 2021, while building up military contingents on the Ukrainian state border, the Russian Federation continued testing the latest version of Kornet-D1 airborne self-propelled anti-tank missile systems.
What is the principle of operation of Russian thermobaric weapons
Thermobaric weapons can be used in rockets or bombs and are loaded with aerosol propellants and toxic metal powders. When it detonates, the explosive propellant quickly dissipates, creating a large cloud of propellant that then ignites on contact with the oxygen around it.
Royal United Services Institute analyst Sam Crannie-Evans explained on Twitter that such an explosion causes two things: enormous heat, up to 3000 kelvins (2700°C), as well as a long period of relatively high overpressure.
“The generated pressure or blast wave is not as high as a conventional high explosive (HE), but it lasts longer, creating more destructive effects,” he noted.
Destructive range when using thermobaric bombs
At the moment, the use of thermobaric weapons has not yet been banned, but there are plenty of arguments against its development and use.
After all, even if a military facility is attacked by a thermobaric missile, the detonation effect is likely to spread to civilian areas.
Since all oxygen burns up in the environment, if a thermobaric weapon is used against a building, the pressure itself can kill anyone hiding inside.
Such weapons are very effective at destroying urban areas and can penetrate bunkers or underground metro stations, like those where the citizens of Ukraine take shelter from air raids. It is reported that it can suck the air out of the lungs of hidden residents.
Where Russia used thermobaric weapons
Even during the Soviet era, Russia used thermobaric bombs against China in 1969 and in Afghanistan in 1979.
Russia deployed such weapons in Chechnya in 1999, with devastating humanitarian consequences condemned by Human Rights Watch .
It was also noted that the Russian Federation introduced heavy multiple launch rocket systems (TOS-1) to Ukraine even before the start of a full-scale war in 2022.
Their unofficial names are Pinocchio and Solntsepek .
For the first time, the military reported about the use of Pinocchio in Ukraine in January 2015.
At that time, the commander of the 93rd brigade, Oleg Mikats, reported that four such installations were brought to the Donetsk airport. One of them managed to fire several shots, after which the Ukrainian defenders covered them with artillery fire.
After that, in September 2015, OSCE observers also reported about the possible use of Pinocchio. They noticed these installations in the temporarily occupied parts of the Luhansk region.
Source: Army Technology, Defense Express
