TB BCH-50 is a high-explosion munition that the Russian Federation installs in Shahed-136 type drones for attacks on Ukrainian cities with the aim of killing civilians.
Points of attention
- Russia is using Shahed drones with TB BCH-50 thermobaric ammunition to attack Ukrainian cities and target civilians, demonstrating a devastating one-stroke effect.
- TB BCH-50 is a modern thermobaric munition with a weight of 52.4 kg, causing a 'fire cloud' effect that affects internal organs and demonstrates maximum effectiveness in closed rooms.
- The recent air attack on Ukraine involved 106 Shahed-type attack UAVs from multiple directions, resulting in the downing of 74 enemy drones by Ukrainian defense forces.
- Ukraine successfully repulsed the air attack using anti-aircraft missile troops, aviation, electronic warfare units, and mobile fire groups, showcasing resilience in the face of aggression.
- Knowledge of the details of the TB BCH-50 thermobaric ammunition provides insights into the tactics and threats posed by Russian attacks, emphasizing the importance of defense strategies and protection measures.
Russia is attacking Ukraine with rockets with thermobaric ammunition
The Russian Federation began to massively use a thermobaric warhead on Shahed-136 type drones, which poses a much greater threat when hitting premises. It has a TB-50 warhead index, and its existence has been known since April 2024, but right now, such equipment is most often used in drones attacking Ukrainian cities.
The details of this combat unit are known thanks to the hacking of the servers of the Russian "Alabuga" in Tatarstan, where these drones are assembled, and work is also underway to modernize them. According to this information, the TB BCH-50 has a weight of 52.4 kg, which, in addition to the thermobaric effect, also has a fragmentation effect due to 2306 ready-made striking elements in the form of balls with a diameter of 9 mm.
This thermobaric ammunition belongs to modern samples and has a single-stroke action. It should be noted that the previous generation of such ammunition had a two-stroke effect — first, an explosive substance was sprayed, which filled the space, and only then it was detonated.
At the same time, in modern single-stroke ammunition, after the detonation of the initiator, the shock wave causes the movement of a thermobaric mixture that interacts with air and with itself to form a "fire cloud" with a temperature of 2400-2600 °C. It "spreads" over the entire area and with a shock wave that affects the lungs, hearing organs, etc.
Thermobaric ammunition demonstrates maximum effectiveness in closed rooms, because such a "cloud" can cover several rooms. That is why the Russian Federation uses "Shahedy" with TB BCH-50 for attacks on cities with the aim of killing the civilian population of Ukraine. And that is why Kyiv is primarily under the attack of Russian-Iranian drones.
Because in the case of detonation of a thermobaric warhead in a living room, it is much more difficult to take shelter from its effects. The fiery cloud from it will fill the entire apartment completely, at a time when the rule of "two walls" can save from the effect of high-explosive munitions.
That is why, to this well-known rule that in the absence of an opportunity to go to the shelter, it is necessary to stay in a room that is separated from the street by at least two walls, it is possible to add another rule — to close the interior door. This will allow creating a conditional separation of rooms and to some extent reduce the spread of the thermobaric mixture throughout the apartment.
But in any case, the best option to protect yourself is still only to stay in shelter.
The Air Force revealed the details of the Russian attack on Ukraine
According to the military, on the night of November 7 (from 9:00 p.m. on November 6), the enemy struck with 106 Shahed-type attack UAVs and unmanned aerial vehicles of an unknown type from the directions of Kursk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Orel — the Russian Federation, and the Crimean Autonomous Region.
As of 12:00 p.m., 74 enemy UAVs have been shot down in Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions.
25 enemy drones were lost in different regions of Ukraine.
The air attack was repulsed by anti-aircraft missile troops, aviation, electronic warfare units, mobile fire groups of the Air Force and Defense Forces of Ukraine.
