Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Disabling Russian Tanks

Posted on 03/06/2015 7:37:38 PM PST by Hootowl

This is possibly a dumb suggestion, but why can't the Ukrainians use small drones flying at night to drop thermite grenades on Russian tanks? Would the thermite be able to burn through the armor and into the engine or fuel compartment?


TOPICS: Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-56 last
To: smokingfrog

EFPs.


41 posted on 03/07/2015 9:13:21 AM PST by Lurker (Violence is rarely the answer. But when it is it is the only answer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Hootowl
I recall reading of guerrilla fighters against the Germans making antitank weapons by putting blocks of explosive in socks and covering the outside with grease. When the tank passed by their hiding place, they'd light the fuse, slap the thing against the tank, counting on the grease to make it stick, then try to get away. Obviously high risk, but apparently effective enough to keep doing it.
42 posted on 03/07/2015 2:58:22 PM PST by JoeFromSidney (Book RESISTANCE TO TYRANNY, available from Amazon.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Hootowl

I’ve always been a big fan of the Javelin myself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VdRnY-TUb4


43 posted on 03/07/2015 3:22:02 PM PST by PLMerite (Shut the Beyotch Down! Burn, baby, burn!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: smokingfrog

A busted track is often a hard kill.


44 posted on 03/07/2015 4:05:26 PM PST by Ozark Tom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Lurker; Hootowl

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/world/middleeast/10weapons.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&;


45 posted on 03/07/2015 4:59:34 PM PST by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open (<o> ---)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: Hootowl

Tactical aspect aside (it is really too much a stupid idea to consider or discuss for real), I have naively thought there is a cease-fire agreement in place.


46 posted on 03/08/2015 8:30:44 AM PDT by Paid_Russian_Troll
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Paid_Russian_Troll

That was certainly a considerate response. Maybe you’re too stupid to frame a polite reply.


47 posted on 03/08/2015 2:38:33 PM PDT by Hootowl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: JoeFromSidney

Sticky bomb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoUb7jiFj5Q


48 posted on 03/08/2015 2:53:39 PM PDT by EternalVigilance
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Hootowl

This assumes this is a tank war. I see mostly artillery being used.


49 posted on 03/08/2015 3:05:06 PM PDT by McGruff (Maybe my comments were too nuanced for you)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Hootowl

What do you mean by small drones in the first place?


50 posted on 03/08/2015 5:37:20 PM PDT by Paid_Russian_Troll
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: Paid_Russian_Troll

First of all, I apologize for snapping at you. My thought in the original posting was to generate some discussion of innovative ways to combat superior armament. I was disappointed. Mostly, people discussed things that had been done long years ago, in a less technological age. Then there were the ones who dismissed everything summarily without offering much by way of discussion. A thermite grenade weighs 32 ounces. Relatively small quad-prop drones can lift 34 ounces, but other factors include the weight of an imaging system so the operator can guide the drone to its target and range. It doesn’t matter how much the drone can lift if it can carry the weight only 10 feet. So, I guess the final answer is that any drone capable of lifting the grenade and conveying it a target perhaps a quarter mile away would probably be too large to be viable as a delivery platform.


51 posted on 03/08/2015 7:21:55 PM PDT by Hootowl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: Hootowl

RC toys you are referring to are small, noisy and above all their range is insufficient to give operator a chance in combat environment.
Not to mention anyone with little knowledge in electronics may build a device jamming command frequencies of these things in a few hours.
On top of this, it is not WWII anymore. Killing a modern tank with a grenade is tricky under ideal conditions, let alone then you are using it in such unorthodox fashion.
How would you target your grenade which is not designed in any aerodynamic shape? How would you time detonation?
Given your enemies are deaf and blind it would take hundreds sorties to probably hit a tank with grenade and then it would simply bounce off the armor.
Of course you won’t have a luxury to try it such often in a real battle.


52 posted on 03/08/2015 7:54:46 PM PDT by Paid_Russian_Troll
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: Paid_Russian_Troll

I’m not up on Russian armor, but historically the weak points of tanks have been the rear ends which covered the engine compartment or fuel load. A thermite grenade is essentially a canister, like a soup can. Put some adhesive on the bottom of the grenade so it sticks to whatever it drops on, wire the grenade to the drone so when it drops the pin is pulled. Thermite burns at about 4,000 degrees, more than sufficient to melt through all but the thickest armor. Mostly agree with your points, but that’s the beauty of brainstorming. Ideas pop up. Some of the most effective tactics in previous wars were achieved by “out of the box” thinking. For instance, during WWI a Canadian unit was attacked with gas. A doctor saw the gas cloud coming and suggested that the Canadian soldiers urinate on some cloth and hold it over their faces. The urea in the urine reacted with the chlorine and mostly neutralized the deadly gas, allowing the Canadians to hold their positions and thwart the German attack.


53 posted on 03/08/2015 8:58:13 PM PDT by Hootowl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: Hootowl

As a side note I think last time thermite was considered an anti-armor solution was early in WWII and it proved inefficient enough to get outclassed by regular anti-tank shaped charge cumulative grenades. Thermite doesn’t burn through armor good enough in practice, let alone there are decent active anti-fire equipment stuffed in modern tanks to negotiate this threat.
In reality, there are no compact ordnance effective against MBTs left.
These are mostly absolete since 1970s. Not only hand grenages, but LAW, RPG. Modern anti-tank weapons are barely man portable.


54 posted on 03/08/2015 10:13:10 PM PDT by Paid_Russian_Troll
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 53 | View Replies]

To: Paid_Russian_Troll

Hmmm, hadn’t thought of hand grenages! LOL! Have a happy week, friend!


55 posted on 03/08/2015 11:14:51 PM PDT by Hootowl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 54 | View Replies]

To: Hootowl

Thank you! Good luck to you too.


56 posted on 03/08/2015 11:17:19 PM PDT by Paid_Russian_Troll
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-56 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson