According to the website of Newsweek on September 3rd, the Ukrainian military has begun deploying drones equipped with aluminum thermal incendiary bombs (referred to as "aluminum thermal bombs"), effectively transforming a lethal fleet of drones into powerful "flamethrower" weapons. The video forwarded by the 108th Independent National Defense Brigade of Ukraine shows that these drones dropped aluminum thermal bombs over enemy positions, causing a large amount of thick smoke to emerge from the drop area. This video, which has gone viral online, highlights the destructive power of these modified drones, as the aluminum thermite ignites upon contact, creating a hellfire capable of destroying Russian military positions. Compared to white phosphorus bombs or napalm bombs, aluminum thermal bombs still have lower lethality. Multiple Ukrainian social media accounts reported that the footage of the conflict was captured in the eastern region of Donetsk, where Russian forces are concentrating their efforts on advancing towards the city of Pokrovsk, an important logistics hub for the Ukrainian military. Although the specific model of the drone is not yet clear, military bloggers believe that the footage captured from the drone's perspective shows that it is a larger FPV (first person perspective) drone. Aluminum thermite is a mixture of metal powder and metal oxide, ignited at a temperature sufficient to melt steel. The open-source intelligence account OSINT Technical on social platform X shared this video and claimed that "in eastern Ukraine, a Ukrainian drone threw aluminum thermal bombs at Russian controlled forest lines, igniting a raging fire. This tactic is seen as a major progress in the use of UAVs in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, enabling Kiev to attack Russian positions, especially in the dense forest areas in the east, where Russian troops often set up bunkers. Some experts point out that aluminum thermal bombs have become a favored weapon among Ukrainian drone operators, especially for destroying abandoned Russian vehicles. As a type of incendiary weapon, aluminum thermal bombs have limitations due to their limited range of action. Unlike other instantly burning incendiary bombs, the chemical reaction of an aluminum thermal bomb requires heating a small area to high temperature over a longer period of time. This "flamethrower" drone sprays molten iron produced by the aluminum thermal reaction out during flight, forming a blazing rain. Soldiers hiding in cover or wearing helmets and bulletproof vests are usually safe if they don't look up, but the main danger comes from fire. Aluminum thermite ignites flammable materials, especially under dry conditions, causing small fires to spread into large ones. These large fires and the resulting thick smoke will force the troops to abandon their positions. The high temperatures and difficult to extinguish fires caused by this substance have raised concerns about potential civilian casualties. Large open areas in Ukraine are often divided by narrow forest lines, which are crucial defensive positions. In this conflict continuously monitored by drones, these forest lines provided important cover, and the Russian military strengthened its forward defense along these natural barriers. It has been proven that using drones that drop aluminum thermal bombs is effective in military operations, but if deployed near civilian areas, this incendiary weapon poses significant risks. (New Society)