The 118th Mechanized Brigade demonstrated the operation of the Ukrainian RPV-16 flamethrower for close combat: defeating manpower, destroying enemy equipment and structures. The video was shown by Army TV.
The flamethrower has ammunition consisting of a thermobaric warhead and a jet engine. After hitting the target, the warhead explodes and disperses, forming an aerosol cloud with a diameter of 7-8 m. 0.2 seconds later, the aerosol explodes, forming a fireball with a temperature of up to 2500 °C.
In addition, the warhead has a fragmentation effect - fragments fly 25 m around the perimeter.
The instructor of the 118th OMBR "Gleba" said that the maximum firing range of the RVP-16 is 1,000 m, and the aimed range is 600 m. A direct shot can be fired from a distance of up to 300 m.
"Its purpose is to destroy manpower hidden in some shelters. It can be a bunker, dugout, bunker, lightly armored vehicles, trenches. It is designed to inflict maximum damage using this aerosol that is sprayed," he explained.
The initial firing of the Ukrainian RVP-16 flamethrower took place at a training ground in the Chernihiv region back in 2017. In October 2018, the weapon entered service with the Ukrainian army.