Formula for 'destroying' tanks on the battlefield in Ukraine

Concerns about the "sequelae" of war

Cluster munitions are munitions that contain multiple submunitions, each with its own warhead. They were developed at the end of World War II and became popular during the Cold War. To distinguish them from cluster munitions, conventional bombs or shells are called unitary munitions.

The tactical benefits of this weapon are undeniable as it can create multiple explosions covering a larger area, and can be used to attack everything from armored vehicles, infantry, to logistics targets or air defense systems. However, the “kill rate” of cluster bombs is a problem that has caused more than 100 countries to sign a ban on the use of this weapon in modern warfare. For example, the M270 - an older rocket launcher system than the HIMARS - can fire a warhead containing 644 M77 grenades, but each shot leaves up to 4% (26 grenades) unexploded on the ground.

Mk-2 cluster bomb (Rockeye) was used by the US Air Force during the invasion of Vietnam.

This rate poses a potential danger to civilians years after the war. The Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibits the “use, stockpiling, production and transfer” of these weapons, but the United States, Russia and Ukraine are not signatories.

In March, Reuters revealed that Kiev had lobbied Washington to transfer Mk-20 (Rockeye) cluster bombs, a Vietnam-era weapon. Each Rockeye weighs more than 500 pounds and contains 247 bomblets, but is incompatible with Ukraine’s current aircraft. The military said it could disassemble the warheads in the Rockeye to use the individual bomblets as weapons for drones. Ukraine also wants 155mm DPICM artillery shells, containing 88 cluster bomblets, to destroy Russian armor.

Both Ukraine and Russia have widely used commercial quadcopter drones in combat, with a common payload being a modified Vog-17 fragmentation grenade, which is effective against infantry.

Significantly improved drone tank-killing capabilities

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Aerorozvidka units use larger R18 drones to drop Soviet-made RTG-3 anti-tank grenades, which weigh about 3 pounds (~1.3 kg), or RPG warheads that are effective against armored vehicles. However, these warheads are too heavy for consumer drones. The four-rotor drones can only use “homemade” ammunition from the American M433 40mm grenade, also known as the “golden egg” because of its yellow-marked nose, or other makeshift grenades.

Additionally, drones in the Ukrainian battlefield are also equipped with improved grenades with new impact fuses and 3D-printed tail fins to allow them to fall vertically, but this combination is often not powerful enough to disable heavily armored tanks, and the impact fuses are unreliable.

Ukrainian forces "homemade" various types of grenades mounted on civilian drones

Ukrainian forces also use Soviet-era cluster bombs to arm drones. For example, the PTAB 2.5, which contains six small warheads, is used on “heavy” bomber drones or on suicide drones.

Meanwhile, the 1.2-pound submunitions in the Rockeye bomb are sized to fit inside small drones. They are also designed to be dropped from the air, with aerodynamic fins, impact fuses, and warheads that can penetrate 10 inches of armor.

In the Iraq war, Rockeye bombs had a “dead bullet” rate of up to 30%, leaving thousands of dangerous unexploded bombs on the ground. The cause could be due to the terrain of the battle, when they fell on soft sand and did not have enough force to trigger the fuse.

The US has hundreds of millions of cluster bombs in its arsenal, and destroying them is a significant financial challenge. Sending aid to Ukraine would kill two birds with one stone, but the move could also undermine Washington’s efforts to “build coalitions and advance arms control agreements.”

(According to PopMech, Forbes)

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