How Ukraine Uses Obsolete Soviet Grenades To Destroy Russian Tanks From Above

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https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-cheap-grenades-expensive-tanks/31835434.html

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How Ukraine Uses Obsolete Soviet Grenades To Destroy Russian Tanks From Above

Photo: Creative Commons
Ukrainian fighters have found a new use for outdated grenades that is
proving spectacularly effective at destroying Russian tanks and other
armored vehicles.
This photo released by Aerorozvidka, an organization that develops
Ukraine’s use of small drones in warfare, shows a Ukrainian-made
octocopter drone with two bomblets mounted beneath it.

Videos recently released by Aerorozvidka
show what appears to be the same, tail-finned explosives being dropped
by drone before destroying armored vehicles with catastrophic
explosions.

Weapons trackers following the conflict in Ukraine have identified
the bomblets as modified Soviet-era RKG-3 anti-tank grenades with
3D-printed tail fins attached to stabilize their fall from drones.
The RKG-3 (pictured) is an anti-tank grenade designed in the Soviet
Union that was first introduced in 1950. The weapon is the size and
weight of a slender bottle of wine and made to be thrown by hand at
enemy armored vehicles.
The grenade contains a drogue parachute (visible at right inside this
museum cutout), that springs out when thrown to ensure the grenade hits
the target fuze-first.

On impact, the RKG-3 detonates a shaped charge (demonstrated in
yellow in this cutout) that fires a hypersonic slug of copper with
enough force to penetrate more than 20 centimeters of armor.

The burst of superheated metal into the interior of tanks can
sometimes lead to “catastrophic” explosions of the ammunition inside.

Soviet soldiers training with dummy RKG-3 grenades against a tank near today’s St. Petersburg in 1978.
Soviet soldiers training with dummy RKG-3 grenades against a tank near today’s St. Petersburg in 1978.
Although remarkably effective on impact, the RKG-3 required
near-suicidal proximity to enemy vehicles, and when rocket-propelled
Soviet anti-tank weapons such as the RPG-7 entered service in the 1960s,
fighters were able to hit enemy armor from hundreds of meters away. The
risky, hand-thrown RKG-3 became largely obsolete.
A rare photo shows a Chechen fighter armed with an RKG-3 grenade in the center of Grozny during the first Chechen war in 1995.
A rare photo shows a Chechen fighter armed with an RKG-3 grenade in the center of Grozny during the first Chechen war in 1995.
Despite the grenade being the focus of a famous scene in the 2014 movie American Sniper, the RKG-3 has only rarely been seen in recent conflicts.

The weapon last hit the news in 2006 when they were shown in use by Al-Qaeda militants against U.S. armor in Iraq — attacks that highlighted the weapon’s collateral risks.

Ukrainian servicemen train with drones before the 2022 Russian invasion. The men are viewing a screen showing real-time video feed from an octocopter, while a tripod-mounted transmitter communicates with the drone.
Ukrainian servicemen train with drones before the
2022 Russian invasion. The men are viewing a screen showing real-time
video feed from an octocopter, while a tripod-mounted transmitter
communicates with the drone.
Although Russian forces have the technology for jamming drone
controls, videos released by Aerorozvidka show that in several cases,
drone pilots have been able to destroy vehicles worth at least hundreds
of thousands of dollars with explosives that are estimated to cost less
than $100.

The new development in low-cost drone warfare may pose an increasing
problem for Russian armor parked anywhere near Ukrainian positions.