Wide-profile weapons: how Ukrainian drones attack invaders from the sky

In the war in Ukraine, drones have become not only scouts, but also a dangerous weapon, effectively destroying equipment and manpower. Telegraph edition found out what ammunition is used by drones in the Ukrainian army.

Special ammunition

All shells can be conditionally divided into specialized and unspecialized. Special ammunition refers to ammunition made specifically for use with a drone. Their design is adapted for mounting on UAVs and for easy aiming during launch, but such bombs are heavier than their standard counterparts.

For each drone, a specific ammunition can be made using parts printed on the 3D printer. This makes it possible to manufacture powerful aerial bombs for large drones that can destroy the military equipment of the invaders. It was noted that bombs or missiles from the famous Turkish Bayraktar TB2 could be used to be dropped from unmanned aerial vehicles.

As early as 2021, some military industrial factories in Ukraine began to produce special ammunition for UAVs so that they can shoot down armored vehicles. For example, Kiev “Mayak” made RKG-1600 cumulative ammunition weighing 1.6 kg, based on the Soviet RKG-3 cumulative grenade and the KZ-4800 cumulative grenade weighing 4.8 kg. The company produces 500 g and 1 kg bombs for bombers to destroy manpower immediately after the start of a full-scale invasion.

The Telegraph also includes specialized loitering munitions, often referred to as kamikaze drones. In fact, this is a grenade with a winged body and an engine for greater range and accuracy.

non-specific ammunition

Any regular ammunition fired from drones should be called non-special: grenades, shots for under-barrel grenade launchers (VOG), mines for mortars, etc. Most often they are armed with commercial drones that were not originally intended for military operations. Such ammunition must be fixed with the detonator already installed, which is very dangerous.

A good example is the Chinese DJI Mavic 3 quadcopter, which can lift a payload of only 0.5 kg. Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine equip him with grenades or VOGs – their combat power is enough to defeat the Russian infantry, but against equipment they are practically useless. In addition, after such raids, soldiers of the RF Armed Forces often survive, although they are injured.

Among commercial UAVs there are models with a larger payload capacity, capable of carrying more powerful ammunition. Thus, the DJI Matrice 300 RTK lifts up to 4kg and an 82mm mortar weighs roughly the same.

In early March, the soldiers of the 30th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces demonstrated how the Russians were bombarded with their own grenades. Ukrainian soldiers managed to seize a large number of ammunition captured during the counterattack, which is currently launched in the Kharkiv region together with drones.

They also wrote about how engineers produced shock drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Craftsmen equip commercial UAVs with drop systems and grenades fitted with stabilizers for greater accuracy.