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Over the last two decades Russia has developed a new family of weapons based on incendiary and blast effects. Thermobaric weapons have been part of that development.
As the name implies, thermobaric weapons (or more precisely warheads)' are optimised for heat and pressure effects, whereas typical Western developments in this field have been focused on achieving improved fragmentation or/and penetration effects.
Thermobaric weapons are a sub-component of a larger family of weapon systems commonly known as volumetric weapons, which also include fuel-air explosives (FAE)(see sidebar). To simplify concepts that will be analysed in detail in what follows, the main characteristics of this weapon category are the creation of a large fireball accompanied by good blast performance.
Growing Interest
Russian forces employed thermobaric weaponry extensively in Afghanistan and subsequently in Chechnya, and recent conflicts have seen an increased use of this type of weapons.
The first and arguably still the best known thermobaric weapon is the RPO-A SHMEL "infantry rocket flamethrower"2, actually a short-range, shoulder-fired unguided rocket launcher. Developed and manufactured by the KBP Instrument Design Bureau, the SHMEL was introduced into service back in 1984 and has been used on both sides of the Chechnya conflict to defeat snipers and dug-in machine gunners, and to clear caves. In Russian practice, thermobaric warheads are also employed for other non-dedicated infantry weapons (e.g., the TBG-7 thermobaric grenade for the ubiquitous RPG-7 family, or the RShG-1 rocket propelled grenade, or the KORNET-E ATGW system) as well as in artillery shells and artillery rockets3. More recently, Norinco of China has also started offering a whole range of thermobaric warheads for infantry weapons.
Western countries have only recently directed research and development towards thermobaric weaponry. With the wide proliferation of these weapons, the need to develop countermeasures was the initial driver for research. Casualty evaluation methods for operational planning, logistics and prediction of medical support requirements were also important considerations. Since then, however, the superior effectiveness of thermobaric weapons against bunkers, buildings and tunnels compared with conventional blast/fragmentation munitions (as demonstrated during the Chechnya and Afghanistan conflicts) has led to increased interest in developing similar weapons in the West as well.
Thermobaric weapons are able to overcome the shortcomings of conventional blast/fragmentation and shaped-charge munitions when used against certain...