The Security Service found uranium in Geran-2 warheads striking Chernihiv Oblast and warned residents not to touch drone fragments, which can release radioactive dust.
Depleted uranium is far less radioactive than natural uranium, one of it’s uses is in fact as radiation shielding…
That being said, uranium in and of itself is toxic to humans.
Depleted uranium, DU, is used in projectiles due to it’s ability to punch through armor, and funny enough, it is also used as armor plating in some tanks.
As a projectile DU has the advantage of being self sharpening and flammable, so if I understand it correctly, when a DU projectile hits an armor plate the energy of the impact causes the DU to self sharpen, increasing the armor penetration capabilities of the projectile, and once it has penetrated, the DU projectile has broken up into many small sharp needles and the added heat of that transformation causes it to catch on fire.
I really doubt that Russia is using DU as a direct ammunition in their drones, it seems more resonable to think that the use of DU is to balance the drone, due to the high density of the material it would take up little space in the drone.
The article spoke about how harmful the radiation of the DU is, that is objectively false.
Now, granted, it is possible that they use DU as shorthand for something else, or are referring to the toxic part of the uranium, but as it stands, the radiation is not the issue
Payload -
the load carried by a vehicle exclusive of what is necessary for its operation
especially : the load carried by an aircraft or spacecraft consisting of people or things (such as passengers or instruments) necessary to the purpose of the flight
… rockets carrying … a payload of Starlink satellites. —Rick Neale
Their objective was to size the airplane according to its intended payload. —Clive Irving
In this case the Payload is the warhead. It is a kamikaze drone.
Depleted uranium warheads for extra spicy impacts.
Depleted uranium is far less radioactive than natural uranium, one of it’s uses is in fact as radiation shielding…
That being said, uranium in and of itself is toxic to humans.
Depleted uranium, DU, is used in projectiles due to it’s ability to punch through armor, and funny enough, it is also used as armor plating in some tanks.
As a projectile DU has the advantage of being self sharpening and flammable, so if I understand it correctly, when a DU projectile hits an armor plate the energy of the impact causes the DU to self sharpen, increasing the armor penetration capabilities of the projectile, and once it has penetrated, the DU projectile has broken up into many small sharp needles and the added heat of that transformation causes it to catch on fire.
I really doubt that Russia is using DU as a direct ammunition in their drones, it seems more resonable to think that the use of DU is to balance the drone, due to the high density of the material it would take up little space in the drone.
Read the article, it says they’re using it in warheads. The person you’re replying to is correct.
The article spoke about how harmful the radiation of the DU is, that is objectively false.
Now, granted, it is possible that they use DU as shorthand for something else, or are referring to the toxic part of the uranium, but as it stands, the radiation is not the issue
Nope, wrong. There wouldn’t be a story if it wasn’t radioactive. Go re-read the article.
Warheads in the air to air missiles that drones use for defense, not the drone warheads themselves.
They’re kamikaze drones. The drone is sacrificing itself with the payload.
…and the DU is not in the payload, it is in the warhead of an air-to-air missile that some drones carry.
You dont know what the word payload means.
Payload - the load carried by a vehicle exclusive of what is necessary for its operation especially : the load carried by an aircraft or spacecraft consisting of people or things (such as passengers or instruments) necessary to the purpose of the flight … rockets carrying … a payload of Starlink satellites. —Rick Neale Their objective was to size the airplane according to its intended payload. —Clive Irving
In this case the Payload is the warhead. It is a kamikaze drone.
…and the DU is not in the kamikaze drone’s warhead. It is in a different warhead, in a missile, strapped to the side of the drone.