Drones redefine warfare: Both sides weaponize old munitions
Both sides in the war in Ukraine are being forced to use substitutes for modern precision weapons, often relying on drones equipped with any explosive charge. An ideal source of ammunition is cluster rocket warheads that either did not fire or did not explode upon impact. However, these must first be extracted from the missile.
FPV drones have become the most effective way to utilize bomblets from cluster ammunition because they provide pinpoint precision in usage. It is not surprising that both Ukrainians and Russians disassemble cluster warheads and use homemade devices or old hand grenades.
Below, you can see how the Russians dismantle a BM-27 Uragan missile containing 30 bomblets. A Russian individual demonstrates where to cut the casing and what to unscrew or break, for example, using a hammer. After accessing the bomblets, he unscrews the fuzes with a wrench. The following recording shows a similar operation performed by a Ukrainian soldier.
Anti-personnel bomblets — a nightmare for soldiers over a large area
The bomblets extracted by the Russian are 9N210, an anti-personnel variant. Each contains a simple impact fuze with a self-destruct mechanism that is supposed to detonate within a maximum of two minutes after being armed.
Each bomblet contains a charge of 370 rods weighing 0.07 ounces each, which have a spread range of several yards. This — combined with the number of bomblets per rocket (30 units) and the salvo size (16 rockets) — creates a vast death zone at the impact site, where the only safe places are a bunker or the interior of an armored vehicle.
Unfortunately, the nature and often the technical condition of the rockets used means that some become unexploded ordnance, posing a threat for decades to come. However, the lack of charges for drones implies that both sides engage in hazardous recycling of found unexploded ordnance.
