Russian soldiers shared the footage of an FPV UAV firing an RShG-2 disposable thermobaric rocket launcher as an alternative way for close air support.
Throughout the war, UAVs mostly dropped ammunition on top of both vehicles and infantry. A recent sighting diverges from this way of use to exploit the precise rotational controls to utilise rocket launchers.
The footage shows that the FPV UAV is fitted with an RShG-2 rocket launcher, a derivative of the anti-vehicle RPG-26 suited for use against infantry and structures thanks to a heavier warhead carrying a thermobaric payload. Additionally, the UAV operators seem to have made changes to the control screen so that the reticle is aligned with the disposable rocket launcher.
Most disposable rocket launchers feature negligible recoil as the gasses are ejected opposite the firing direction. Thus, a large enough UAV can fire RShG-2 or similar rocket launchers with minimal disturbance.
Compared to dropping a munition on top of the target, using a rocket launcher can make evasion and self-defence more challenging as the rocket travels far faster and is fired from a distance. However, the magazine is shallow, as most munition-dropping UAVs carry multiple mortar rounds or grenades, while a generic munition-dropping type could carry one RShG-2.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor: Özgür Ekşi
