2014 Russia-Ukraine War

Fragmentation hand grenades in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War

Fragmentation hand grenades are documented in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War as close-range anti-personnel munitions, including F1-type grenades carried by Mavic-style quadcopters used by Ukrainian and Russian forces.

Weapon profileFragmentation hand grenade
SideUkraineRussiaRoleAsymmetric AdvantageFrontline Assault
Fragmentation hand grenade, Fragmentation hand grenade, Infantry Weapons - 2014 Russia-Ukraine War
Image source: File:M67 grenade.jpg

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
Ukrainian and Russian Mavic-type drop drones used hand grenades, with larger single-grenade payloads typically being fragmentation hand grenades such as the F1.

Sources: Moving Targets: Implications of the Russo-Ukrainian War for Drone Terrorism

Ukrainian forces attached grenades to a DJI Mavic 3 near Bakhmut and modified commercial drones to carry grenades and other small explosives.

Sources: TPR NPR DJI Mavic Bakhmut grenade drops

Ukrainian and Russian forces modified consumer drones to drop explosives during the war.

Sources: TPR NPR DJI Mavic Bakhmut grenade drops, Army University Press Grenade-Dropping Quadcopters II

Ukrainian forces modified small UAS to drop grenades and other munitions onto enemy positions, vehicles, and personnel.

Sources: Army University Press Grenade-Dropping Quadcopters

A reported Ukrainian DJI Mavic 3 incident involved an F1 hand grenade near Novohryhorivka, Mykolaiv Oblast.

Sources: Mavic 3 drops grenade with deadly accuracy

Timeline

Fragmentation hand grenade In 2014 Russia-Ukraine War

  1. Ukrainian F1 hand-grenade drone drop reported

    DroneXL reported an OSINT-documented Ukrainian DJI Mavic 3 dropping an F1 hand grenade on Russian troops near Novohryhorivka in Mykolaiv Oblast.

    Sources: Mavic 3 drops grenade with deadly accuracy

  2. Grenades attached to DJI Mavic 3 near Bakhmut

    NPR/TPR published reporting from Bakhmut showing a Ukrainian soldier attaching grenades to a DJI Mavic 3 and described Ukrainian forces modifying commercial drones to carry grenades and other small explosives.

    Sources: TPR NPR DJI Mavic Bakhmut grenade drops

  3. Army analysis describes grenade-dropping small UAS

    Army University Press said Ukrainian forces modified Group 1-3 small UAS to drop munitions, including grenades, onto enemy positions, vehicles, and personnel.

    Sources: Army University Press Grenade-Dropping Quadcopters

  4. Follow-up analysis describes continued use by both sides

    Army University Press reported that Ukrainian and Russian forces continued rigging small UAS to carry and drop grenades and other munitions, including a late-2023 Ukrainian quadcopter grenade drop north of Bakhmut.

    Sources: Army University Press Grenade-Dropping Quadcopters II

  5. CTC identifies F1-type hand grenades as larger Mavic payloads

    CTC West Point described Mavic-type drop drones in Ukraine and identified larger one-grenade payloads as typically fragmentation hand grenades such as the F1.

    Sources: Moving Targets: Implications of the Russo-Ukrainian War for Drone Terrorism

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

Fragmentation hand grenades are documented in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War through open-source battlefield reporting and military analysis of small-drone attack methods. CTC West Point described Mavic-type quadcopters in Ukraine as drop drones used extensively by both sides after February 2022, and identified the F1 as the typical larger fragmentation hand grenade carried when a Mavic carried one larger grenade rather than smaller VOG-type munitions.

NPR/TPR published March 2023 reporting from Bakhmut showing a Ukrainian soldier attaching grenades to a DJI Mavic 3 and described Ukrainian forces modifying commercial drones to carry grenades and other small explosives. The same report said troops on both sides used DJI commercial drones and quoted a drone-use researcher describing Ukrainian and Russian modification of consumer drones to drop explosives.

Sources: Moving Targets: Implications of the Russo-Ukrainian War for Drone Terrorism, TPR NPR DJI Mavic Bakhmut grenade drops

Timeline

In July 2022, DroneXL reported an OSINT-documented Ukrainian drone strike in which a DJI Mavic 3 was described as dropping an F1 hand grenade on Russian troops near Novohryhorivka in Mykolaiv Oblast. The report relied on battlefield video and OSINT geolocation rather than an official after-action statement, so it is used here as incident-level open-source evidence for Ukrainian use.

By February and March 2023, NPR/TPR documented Ukrainian grenade carriage on a DJI Mavic 3 near Bakhmut and described the same broad modification pattern on both sides of the war. Army University Press analysis later in 2023 stated that Ukrainian forces modified small commercial UAS to drop grenades, mortar rounds, and antitank rounds onto enemy positions, vehicles, and personnel. In 2024, a follow-up Army University Press article reported that both sides continued rigging small UAS to carry and drop grenades and other munitions.

Sources: Mavic 3 drops grenade with deadly accuracy, TPR NPR DJI Mavic Bakhmut grenade drops, Army University Press Grenade-Dropping Quadcopters, Army University Press Grenade-Dropping Quadcopters II

Operational role

In the cited Ukraine-war sources, fragmentation hand grenades appear mainly as improvised short-range anti-personnel payloads for small quadcopters rather than as hand-thrown infantry weapons. CTC West Point distinguishes smaller modified VOG-17-type high-explosive fragmentation munitions from the larger one-grenade payloads that were typically fragmentation hand grenades such as the F1.

The sources support use by both Ukraine and Russia at the method level, while named incident evidence is stronger for Ukrainian use. NPR/TPR and Army University Press both describe the Ukrainian and Russian use pattern, but the named Bakhmut and Novohryhorivka examples identify Ukrainian operators attacking Russian forces. The exact grenade model is not consistently identifiable in every incident, so this record treats the conflict use as a fragmentation hand-grenade class with F1-type examples where sources name that model.

Sources: Moving Targets: Implications of the Russo-Ukrainian War for Drone Terrorism, TPR NPR DJI Mavic Bakhmut grenade drops, Army University Press Grenade-Dropping Quadcopters, Army University Press Grenade-Dropping Quadcopters II, Mavic 3 drops grenade with deadly accuracy

Related Weapons by Role

Drone-dropped fragmentation grenade, Improvised grenade-drop tactic using a commercial UAV, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsDrone-dropped fragmentation grenadeImprovised grenade-drop tactic using a commercial UAVDrone-dropped fragmentation grenade is a field-adapted strike method that uses commercial quadcopters or similar small UAVs to release hand grenades or comparable fragmentation charges. Reporting from Ukraine and Gaza ties the method to improvised battlefield use by multiple sides, while a 2025 U.S. Army test with a Skydio X10D, an Audible dropper, and an M67 grenade shows the same concept moving into formal experimentation.
Improvised drones, Improvised military drone class, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsImprovised dronesImprovised military drone classImprovised drones are locally modified or field-assembled uncrewed aerial systems built from commercial quadcopters, FPV airframes, agricultural-drone parts, and workshop-made payload fittings. The record tracks a distributed weapon class rather than one factory model: Islamic State, Ukrainian and Russian forces, Hamas, Israeli units in Gaza, and Myanmar armed actors all adapted small UAVs for reconnaissance, bomb drops, assault support, and low-cost strike roles.
15 more weapons
Back to Fragmentation hand grenadeBrowse 2014 Russia-Ukraine War

Sources