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May 1, 2022 17 tweets 8 min read Read on X
By now, many will have seen the video of a Ukrainian drone dropping a small bomb through the sunscreen (!) of a car driven by Russian soldiers. Here's a short thread on how it was done (with thanks to @ian_matveev, on whose thread this is based). /1
For the attack, a modified VOG-17 grenade was used. A fin and a front part, created on a 3D printer, are added. The VOG-17 is a Soviet-era 30x120 mm fragmentation grenade with a claimed effective radius of 7m, covering an area of about 150 m². /2 ImageImageImage
It weighs about 350g (12.3oz) A hobbyist drone like a DJI Phantom 3 is easily capable of carrying one of these. As two grenades were used in this attack, it suggests that a bigger drone was used, two drones were used or the same drone was used to attack twice in succession. /3 Image
The modifications to the grenade are simple, but as the video shows, they enable good aerodynamic performance and high accuracy. /4
The VOG-17 grenade itself contains only 36g (1.2oz) of explosive and can't seriously damage equipment. But there is a lot of such ammunition in Ukraine. It's usually fired from an AG-17 automatic grenade launcher, a Soviet equivalent of the US Mk 19. /5
Low-cost hobbyist drones armed with small modified grenades provide a cheap and effective weapon against individual soldiers. Factions in Syria and Iraq used them to some extent, but they've really come into their own in Ukraine. /6
But how do you destroy an armoured vehicle with an off-the-shelf drone? Ukraine appears to have been using a few different approaches. One of the most effective has been to repurpose the RKG-3, an old Soviet-era type of anti-tank grenade dating to 1950. /7 Image
In 2020, Ukraine's PJSC Mayak Plant demonstrated a drone bomb conversion for the RKG-3 - attaching 3D-printed fins to convert it into the RKG-1600. It weighs about 1kg (2 lb), requiring the use of a larger drone. /8 Image
During testing, drone pilots were able to hit a target 1m (3ft) in size from an altitude of 300m (900 ft). At that altitude the drone would have been virtually invisible and inaudible. /9 Image
Another tactic appears to be the use of what are likely to be aerially-dropped mortar rounds - a very simple and cheap option, particularly against weakly armoured vehicles such as these Russian BMP-3s (with only about 10mm of top armour). /10 ImageImage
The effect of these can be seen in the video below. /11
The cost-effectiveness of these things is extraordinary. An octocopter drone costs maybe $10k, a Phantom 3 costs around $500. A mortar or RKG-1600 probably costs under $100. Each BMP-3 cost the Russians $796k. Add to that the potential cost of a lost crew. /12
You can bet that military strategists will be watching this with great interest. Drones are now able to effectively snipe soldiers and equipment with great precision, likely undetected, at any time of the day or night and in most weather conditions. /13
Even if you're camouflaged, bivouacked or behind the front lines, a drone armed with a small bomb could be overhead at any moment. Drone pilots are the new snipers of the 21st century, and are likely to be just as much feared by their targets. /end
An extra point about how effective those converted anti-tank grenades (RKG-1600) are: the most recent models of the base RKG-3 grenade can penetrate 220 mm of rolled homogeneous armour. That's more than enough to take out a tank, as this video shows:

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More from @ChrisO_wiki

Sep 17
1/ South Korean workers arrested in Georgia and subsequently deported from the US have been giving more accounts of their experiences. The deportation of over 300 workers has caused political uproar in South Korea and prompted a human rights investigation into their ordeal. ⬇️ Image
2/ The BBC has interviewed three of those arrested. Cheol-yong, a software engineer, says the unarmed workers were held at gunpoint by federal agents.

"Some people tried to explain that they were not criminals, but some agents pointed guns at their chests.
3/ "Have you ever seen a red laser coming out of a gun? It was so shocking that some of the staff members trembled in fear."

Another worker, Mr. A, says that armed agents suddenly burst into his office, handcuffed him, chained his waist and ankles, and put him in a vehicle.
Read 15 tweets
Sep 17
1/ Questions to ask to annoy Russian soldiers, according to the 'Tears of Autumn' Telegram channel: ⬇️
🔺 Why haven't you been in the army since 2014?
🔺 Why have you been in the army since 2014, but still haven't won against the Ukies?
🔺 Why haven't you been in the army since 2022?
🔺 Why are you in the rear in the army?
🔺 Why are you in combat, but not in a trench?
🔺 Why are you in a trench, but so clean?
🔺 Why aren't you wounded?
🔺 Why are you wounded, but not seriously?
🔺 Why aren't you dead?
🔺 Why are you dead, but didn't die heroically?
🔺 Why did you die heroically, but now your wife is using you for "PR"?
Read 13 tweets
Sep 17
1/ The Russian Black Sea Fleet is reportedly in a "systemic crisis" due to manpower problems, a recruitment campaign that is mainly attracting "chronic alcoholics and drug addicts", and ongoing systemic corruption involving stealing repair funds for unseaworthy ships. ⬇️ Image
2/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports that, according to a source, "All vacations have been cancelled, units are overcrowded, and newly arrived contract soldiers are being massively appointed to key positions in the crews."
3/ "About 70% of them are chronic alcoholics and drug addicts. For such “fighters”, the Black Sea Fleet administration has come up with a special “punishment” – transfer to the 810th Separate Marine Brigade.
Read 13 tweets
Sep 16
1/ South Korea's government has announced that it is launching an investigation into human rights abuses said to have been carried out by the United States' ICE agency against South Korean workers deported from Georgia, following further damaging testimony from the deportees. ⬇️ Image
2/ The government said today that it "plans to immediately begin a joint investigation involving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the company regarding the human rights violations against our citizens detained in the US state of Georgia."
3/ "To this end, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently consulting with the company representatives." An official says it "will need to discuss specific investigation methods with the company representatives ... We expect to begin as soon as preparations are complete."
Read 19 tweets
Sep 16
1/ Prominent Russian sources are warning that soldiers returning from Ukraine, many of them with PTSD and unable to find jobs, are prime candidates for recruitment into crime and terrorism – especially highly-skilled drone operators. ⬇️ Image
2/ Former Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin notes that in just one Russian drone unit, "there are dozens of highly qualified pilot-operators with hundreds of combat sorties and thousands of flight hours", with more having already returned home after completing their contract.
3/ He questions what they will do after the war: "[In] modern cities there are hundreds of thousands of different surveillance cameras, servers with software for decrypting numbers and recognizing faces, but all of them will be useless if suddenly illegal actions are committed…
Read 23 tweets
Sep 16
1/ Russia's Zapad-2025 military exercises have come in for bitter criticism from Russian warbloggers for being a "circus performance" and "dogshit", that ignores the lessons of the war in Ukraine and showcases irrelevant capabilities. ⬇️
2/ The Zapad exercises, which were last held in 2021, are a heavily scripted demonstration of Russian military capabilities. Unlike NATO exercises, they make little contribution to improving military skills, as Russia's failures in 2022 showed vividly.
3/ 'Military Informant' highlights the demonstrations of low-level bombing and airborne landings as particularly pointless, as both capabilities performed disastrously at the start of the invasion and have been used little or not at all since:
Read 24 tweets

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