October 24, 2024:
Ukraine has begun using its new Dragon Drone in combat. This is an FPV (first person viewing) drone where the operators, a few kilometers away, can see what the drone video camera sees and navigate the drone to the target. The Dragon drone carries 500 grams of thermite and dispenses the thermite when a target is spotted. The thermite falls as a small cloud and ignites when it reaches the ground. Thermite burns a 2500 degrees Celsius and will destroy anything it falls on, including people, weapons and munitions. The flames last about 20 seconds and the trail of burning thermite is about 100 meters long.
Ukraine is building over a million FPV drones this year. While Russian production equals or exceeds that, innovative Ukrainian drone designs like the Dragon Drone gives them an edge.