Concerns over Russia's use of thermobaric weaponry has grown when the Ukrainian envoy to the US said that a vacuum bomb – another moniker for the weapon – was used during the invasion. The ‘vacuum bomb’ ignites a fireball that sucks in all surrounding oxygen.
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Thermobaric Weapons
Although videos from Ukraine shows thermobaric rocket launchers on Russia's TOS-1 vehicles, the employment of such weapons, which pull oxygen from the surrounding atmosphere to cause a high-temperature explosion, is still to be reliably authenticated.
Although it was unclear whether they had been used by Russia in Ukraine yet, Dr Marcus Hellyer, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said it was just "a matter of time."
How Vacuum Bomb Works?
The thermobaric weapon or a Vacuum Bomb is a two-stage munition commonly dubbed as an aerosol bomb or fuel air explosive.
The first-stage charge disperses an aerosol composed of extremely thin particles, ranging fr...