Russia is making advances in its military capabilities by developing new lethal drones equipped with thermobaric warheads. These drones are expected to be a modernized version of the Iranian Shahed 136/131 UAV, which Russia has been using since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict.
The Alabuga super plant in Tatarstan, a major production hub for drones in Russia, is where these deadly new weapons are being developed. The Kremlin is heavily investing in the facility’s expansion, which is expected to reach 100,000 square meters once fully operational.
A Russian military blogger going by the handle ‘Russia no context’ has disclosed that engineers at the site have made modifications to the Iranian drones, enabling them to carry 90kg bombs and are also developing high-explosive fragmentation incendiary and thermobaric warheads for them.
According to the pro-Kremlin blogger, the Russian military has already put the new drones to the test in a strike against Ukrainian forces on March 13th. In that operation, the Russian army is said to have used two Shaheds armed with heavy bombs and eight others equipped with thermobaric warheads.
The military blogger revealed that the Kremlin intends to rapidly increase production of the new drones and their lethal payloads. A plan has been approved for the production of 3,000 thermobaric warheads, 5,000 high-explosive fragmentation incendiary warheads, 30 test warheads, and 1,000 high-explosive fragmentation incendiary warheads weighing 90 kg.
Thermobaric weapons, also known as vacuum bombs, have drawn ethical concerns due to their devastating impact, causing severe destruction and horrific injuries. These weapons draw oxygen from the surrounding air to create an explosion with a longer blast wave that burns at an extremely high temperature.
Vacuum bombs have been used by various global powers, including the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan. They consist of a fuel container with two separate explosive charges. When it hits its target, the first explosive charge releases the fuel mixture as a dispersed cloud. This cloud can penetrate building openings or defenses that are not fully sealed.
A second charge then ignites the cloud, causing a massive fireball and a powerful blast wave that consumes all nearby oxygen. This weapon has the power to destroy reinforced structures, equipment, and to kill or injure personnel. It comes in various sizes, ranging from hand grenades to aircraft-dropped bombs.
Perhaps Russia’s most notorious thermobaric weapon is the TOS-1A, capable of producing temperatures reaching 3,000 degrees Celsius.
