russia has begun to massively use thermobaric warheads on Shahed-136 drones, which pose a much greater threat when striking premises. This warhead was named TB BCh-50, and its existence has been known since April 2024. Currently, drones that are attacking Ukrainian cities most often use such equipment.
It should be recalled that the detail information of this warhead became known due to hackers who broke into the russian Alabuga servers in Tatarstan, where these drones are assembled and modernization work is underway. According to this information, the TB BCh-50weighs 52.4 kg, which, in addition to the thermobaric effect, also has a fragmentation effect due to 2,306 destructive elements in the form of 9 mm diameter balls.
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This thermobaric munition is a modern model and has a single-action. It should be noted that the previous generation of such munitions had a two-stage action: first, an explosive substance was dispersed to fill the space, and only then was it detonated.
At the same time, in modern single-action munitions, after the initiator is detonated, the shock wave causes the movement of a thermobaric mixture, which interacts with the air and with itself to form a "fire cloud" with a temperature of 2400–2600 °C. It spreads over the entire area and produces a shock wave that affects the lungs, ears, and other organs.
Thermobaric munitions demonstrate maximum effectiveness in confined spaces, as such a "cloud" can cover several rooms. That is why the russian federation is using Shahed drones with TB BCh-50 to attack cities in order to kill the civilian population of Ukraine. That is why Kyiv is primarily under attack by russian drones.
Earlier Defense Express reported that russia had simplified Shahed drones to the utmost.
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