Munitions

Thermobaric warhead

Also known as
  • Fuel-air explosive warhead
  • FAE warhead
  • Thermobaric payload
  • Vacuum bomb

A thermobaric warhead is a munition payload type rather than a complete weapon. ARES describes thermobaric and fuel-air explosive munitions as payloads that use ambient oxygen to produce a longer-duration, high-temperature blast with lower peak pressure than conventional HE, usually with little primary fragmentation. Cataloged examples range from RPG and mortar rounds to artillery rockets, mine-clearing rockets, and loitering-munition payloads.

Thermobaric warhead, Thermobaric payload, Munitions
Image source: Commons Thermobaric Head for M79 Osa
Profile / Specs

Specifications

Munition class
Enhanced-blast / thermobaric / fuel-air explosive payload
Primary mechanism
Fuel-rich blast effect using surrounding oxygen to produce high temperature and enhanced pressure
Blast profile
Longer-duration pressure effect than many conventional high-explosive fills, often with lower peak pressure
Fragmentation
Usually secondary to blast effect; some designs use light casing or limited primary fragmentation
Common carriers
Air-delivered bombs, artillery rockets, guided missiles, grenade and rocket launchers, mortar rounds, and loitering munitions
Role
Anti-structure and anti-personnel area-effect payload
Carrier UAVs

Open reporting and manufacturer-linked coverage describe thermobaric payload options for loitering and one-way attack UAVs.

CarrierCarrier typeCarriage evidence
AQ-400 Scythe, Long-range one-way strike UAV, Aircraft & UAVsAQ-400 ScytheLong-range strike UAV

TWZ reports that a standard payload for the AQ-400 Scythe can be a thermobaric warhead.

Sources: Ukraine's Scythe Drone Is All About Striking Far Away As Cheaply As Possible

Warmate, Loitering munition, Aircraft & UAVsWarmateLoitering munition

Janes reported WB Group's Warmate TL variant with a thermobaric warhead option, extending the payload type into tube-launched loitering munitions.

Sources: WB Group unveils Warmate TL variant

Cataloged Thermobaric And Fuel-Air Munitions

These linked entries are specific cataloged munitions whose source records identify a thermobaric or fuel-air explosive payload.

Compatible itemItem typeCompatibility evidence
120 mm round with thermobaric bomb, 120 mm thermobaric mortar round, Munitions120 mm round with thermobaric bomb120 mm mortar round

VMZ describes this Bulgarian 120 mm mortar ammunition as a round with a thermobaric bomb.

Sources: VMZ 120 mm Thermobaric Mortar Round

9M51 fuel-air explosive rocket, 220 mm Uragan fuel-air explosive rocket, Munitions9M51 fuel-air explosive rocket220 mm artillery rocket

ARES identifies the 9M51 as an Uragan-family rocket using a 9N515 parachute-retarded fuel-air explosive warhead.

Sources: Soviet and Russian flame weapons in Ukraine

9M529 thermobaric rocket, 300 mm thermobaric rocket, Munitions9M529 thermobaric rocket300 mm artillery rocket

Rosoboronexport lists the 9M529 as a Smerch-family rocket fitted with a thermobaric warhead.

Sources: 9M529 rocket

RTB-7MA RPG round, 40 mm thermobaric RPG round for RPG-7-family launchers, MunitionsRTB-7MA RPG roundRPG-7 thermobaric round

Bulcomer presents RTB-7MA as an RPG-7V-compatible thermobaric round for personnel, shelters, fortifications, buildings, light armored vehicles, and automobiles.

Sources: 40mm Round RTB-7MA Thermobaric Grenade

Carpet fuel-air mine-clearing rocket, Fuel-air mine-clearing rocket system, ArtilleryCarpet fuel-air mine-clearing rocketFuel-air mine-clearing rocket system

Defense Update describes CARPET as a fuel-air rocket system used to clear a lane through mines and explosive obstacles.

Sources: Defense Update CARPET system

This relationship section keeps the generic payload page separate from conflict-specific records for individual rockets, rounds, launchers, and UAVs.

Sources: ARES Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas

Payload Class Context

Thermobaric warheads appear as payloads inside complete munitions, not as a standalone battlefield weapon. Sources describe the same enhanced-blast family across air-delivered bombs, artillery rockets, shoulder-fired launchers, guided missiles, mortar rounds, and loitering-munition payloads.

Mechanism

Fuel-rich explosive effects and surrounding oxygen produce a high-temperature pressure wave with longer duration than many conventional high-explosive fills.

Operational identification

Conflict reporting usually identifies the exact munition or launcher, such as a 9M51 rocket, RPO-family launcher, TOS-series rocket system, or thermobaric UAV payload.

Carrier range

The linked records show the payload class at several scales, from RPG and mortar rounds to mine-clearing rockets, heavy rocket artillery, and one-way attack UAVs.

Sources: ARES Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas; Enhanced Blast Weapons in Ukraine; Fuel air explosive (FAE) systems; Soviet and Russian flame weapons in Ukraine.

Timeline

Thermobaric warhead Key Events

  1. Early operational FAE use in Vietnam

    The IMAS technical note describes U.S. Marine Corps use of ethylene-oxide fuel-air explosive canisters for minefield clearance in Vietnam.

    Sources: Fuel air explosive (FAE) systems

  2. Chechnya reporting highlights wide-area FAE hazards

    Human Rights Watch summarized reports of Russian fuel-air explosive use in Chechnya and described the wide-area hazard of FAE effects in urban or enclosed settings.

    Sources: Chechnya Conflict: Use of Vacuum Bombs by Russian Forces

  3. Named thermobaric and FAE systems documented in Ukraine

    ARES documented Soviet and Russian thermobaric or fuel-air explosive systems in eastern Ukraine, including GM-94 ammunition, RPO/MRO-family launchers, and the 9M51 rocket with a 9N515 FAE warhead.

    Sources: Soviet and Russian flame weapons in Ukraine

  4. Enhanced-blast terminology framed for Ukraine

    Human Rights Watch described thermobaric, fuel-air explosive, and vacuum-bomb terminology as referring to an enhanced-blast class used across multiple munition families.

    Sources: Enhanced Blast Weapons in Ukraine

Media

Thermobaric warhead Videos

Thermobaric warhead Images

Thermobaric warhead, Thermobaric payload, Munitions - view 1
Source: Commons Shikhany NBC Exercise 2018-05
Thermobaric warhead, Thermobaric payload, Munitions - view 2
Source: Commons BLU-118B Thermobaric Bomb Ready for Shipping
Related Weapon Systems
9M528 high-explosive fragmentation rocket, 300 mm high-explosive fragmentation rocket, MunitionsMunitions9M528 high-explosive fragmentation rocket300 mm high-explosive fragmentation rocketThe 9M528 is a Russian 300 mm high-explosive fragmentation artillery rocket for the 9K58/BM-30 Smerch family. It is the unitary blast-fragmentation option in the Smerch ammunition set, carrying a 243 kg warhead with 95 kg of explosive and 800 preformed fragments to a reported 90 km maximum range. Human Rights Watch linked the designation to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh fighting after Azerbaijan's mine-action agency identified a 9M528 rocket at Ayrija in Goranboy district.
Mortar bombs, 120mm, Heavy mortar ammunition, MunitionsMunitionsMortar bombs, 120mmHeavy mortar ammunition120 mm mortar bombs are fin-stabilized heavy mortar projectiles for compatible 120 mm mortar launchers, covering high-explosive, smoke, illumination, training, extended-range, and guided families. Published examples vary sharply by manufacturer and launcher qualification: conventional HE rounds commonly list 13-16 kg class masses, product-specific explosive fillings, point-detonating or proximity fuzes, and range limits tied to barrel length, pressure limits, smoothbore qualification, or turreted-system requirements. In the Boko Haram insurgency, Nigerian Army reporting documented recovered 120 mm mortar bombs as insurgent materiel rather than confirmed firing use.

Sources

ARES Explosive Weapons in Populated AreasPublisher: Armament Research Services | Note: Supports the thermobaric munition definition, oxygen-dependent blast effect, longer duration, lower peak pressure, and low-fragmentation construction. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Enhanced Blast Weapons in UkrainePublisher: Human Rights Watch | Note: Supports thermobaric, fuel-air explosive, and vacuum bomb as enhanced-blast terminology and describes the class across air-dropped bombs, rocket artillery, and shoulder-fired munitions. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Fuel air explosive (FAE) systemsPublisher: International Mine Action Standards | Note: Supports fuel-air explosive system terminology, FAE hazard-clearance context, and early U.S. Marine Corps operational use of ethylene-oxide canisters for minefield clearance in Vietnam. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Chechnya Conflict: Use of Vacuum Bombs by Russian ForcesPublisher: Human Rights Watch | Note: Supports background on reported Russian FAE use in Chechnya and the wide-area and enclosed-space hazard profile of fuel-air explosive effects. | Accessed: 2026-07-01The inner workings of Russia's thermobaric weaponsPublisher: Army Technology | Note: Supports Russian thermobaric-weapon background and provides another producer context for the payload type. | Accessed: 2026-07-01WB Group unveils Warmate TL variantPublisher: Janes | Note: Supports Polish manufacturer context and the use of thermobaric warheads on the Warmate family. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Ukraine's Scythe Drone Is All About Striking Far Away As Cheaply As PossiblePublisher: The War Zone | Note: Supports the AQ-400 Scythe carrying a thermobaric warhead as a standard payload option. | Accessed: 2026-07-01VMZ 120 mm Thermobaric Mortar RoundPublisher: VMZ | Note: Supports a Bulgarian 120 mm mortar round example that uses a thermobaric bomb payload. | Accessed: 2026-07-019M529 rocketPublisher: Rosoboronexport | Note: Supports the 9M529 as an official 300 mm Smerch-family rocket example fitted with a thermobaric warhead. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Soviet and Russian flame weapons in UkrainePublisher: Armament Research Services | Note: Supports the 9M51 as a 220 mm Uragan-family fuel-air explosive rocket with a 9N515 parachute-retarded FAE warhead. | Accessed: 2026-07-0140mm Round RTB-7MA Thermobaric GrenadePublisher: Bulcomer S.K.S. | Note: Supports the RTB-7MA as an RPG-7V-compatible thermobaric round example and gives component and target-set context. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Defense Update CARPET systemPublisher: Defense Update | Note: Supports CARPET as a Rafael fuel-air mine-clearing rocket system and provides range, launcher, and breaching-method context. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Commons Thermobaric Head for M79 OsaPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a photographed thermobaric head on display, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Commons Shikhany NBC Exercise 2018-05Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public thermobaric-weapon firing photo used as contextual gallery imagery. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Commons BLU-118B Thermobaric Bomb Ready for ShippingPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain U.S. Navy photograph of a completed BLU-118B thermobaric bomb at Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head. | Accessed: 2026-07-01