Russia’s thermobaric weapons – sometimes called vacuum bomb weapons – are some of Putin’s most powerful in Ukraine. Some experts even think they should be illegal.
So, of course, it makes sense that Ukraine tries to target and destroy as many of these weapons as possible.
And recent footage shows Kyiv does not need to do much to accomplish that objective.
Watch Improvised Suicide Drone Take Out Russian Missile System
A branch of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) was responsible back in March for a drone strike on a Russian thermobaric missile launcher – what some consider Russia’s most powerful weapon short of a nuclear bomb.
Ukraine Video: What We Can See
The incredible attack not only struck the missile launcher as it was firing missiles but was achieved using an improvised kamikaze-style drone.
The entire incident was also recorded by the drone itself, meaning that the strike was captured on video until milliseconds before impact.
A video shared by the Ukrainian military on social media shows a Russian missile launcher, emblazoned with a “Z” symbol on the top, firing missiles at a target from the ground.
After two missiles are launched, the drone navigates through a cloud of smoke and starts flying toward the rocket launcher.
No more rockets are launched in the moments before impact, and it is unknown whether this was because the weapon’s operators were aware of the drone.
The Ukrainian drone then quickly dives toward the vehicle and the video footage cuts out, indicating that it struck the launcher.
The clip was initially uploaded to Facebook by the Security Service of Ukraine but was quickly shared by large war-tracking accounts on Twitter.
In the original post, the SBU described how the strike took out a Russian Sonstepok MLRS.
“SBU special forces destroyed the Russian “Sunset” ???? with an FPV drone. Soldiers of the Special Operations Center “A” of the Security Service burned the Russian heavy flamethrower system “Sonstepok” right at the moment of its salvo,” the post reads.
“The ‘Second World Army’ was left without another ‘analogue’. We continue to work until complete Victory,” it continued.
#Ukraine: The SBU “Alpha” SSO hit a Russian TOS-1A thermobaric multiple rocket launcher with a improvised FPV loitering munition, shortly after it fired.
Unfortunately, the extent of damage is unclear. pic.twitter.com/7dDwAVxAk6
— ???????? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 8, 2023
According to Ukraine Weapons Tracker, a popular war-tracking Twitter account, the damage caused by the strike – if any – was not confirmed by the Ukrainian military at the time back in March.
However, given the extensive video footage shared online showing how much damage can be done with these improvised loitering munitions, it’s likely that at least some damage was done to the rocket launcher.
“The SBU “Alpha” SSO hit a Russian TOS-1A thermobaric multiple rocket launcher with an improvised FPV loitering munition, shortly after it fired,” a post that includes the video clip reads.
“Unfortunately, the extent of damage is unclear.”
The group responsible for the strike is the Special Group “Alpha” of the Security Service of Ukraine. The group is a modern-day equivalent of the Soviet Union’s Alpha Group, and is one of the higher-level divisions of the Ukrainian special forces.
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
From 19FortyFive
