Weird Weapon Putin Is Using In Ukraine

Explore the unconventional and surprising weapons used in the ongoing war in Ukraine in this in-depth analysis. From advanced cruise missiles like the Kh-101 with unique features to improvised adaptations of old weapons like the KS-19 anti-aircraft gun mounted on trucks, discover the creative ways both Russia and Ukraine are addressing the shortage of modern weaponry. Witness the resurgence of World War I-era machine guns, the use of Mosin-Nagant rifles, and the adaptation of Soviet-era pistols. Join us as we delve into the ingenuity and resourcefulness born out of necessity in the midst of a prolonged conflict. What other innovations do you think will emerge as the war continues? Share your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget to like and subscribe for more insightful military analyses.

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Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. The famous phrase from former World Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson certainly applies to both sides in the war in Ukraine. Now nearly two years old, both Russia and Ukraine have learned many hard lessons during the fighting.

One of them is that ammunition gets depleted quickly in a modern conflict. Both sides have suffered shortages of missiles, artillery, and other modern instruments of war. The shortage of weapons and length of the conflict has forced both sides to find creative

Ways to keep themselves in the fight, including by using some unconventional weapons. Let’s take a look at some of these arms, which range from the archaic to the very very strange. One of the stranger weapons seen in the conflict is a variant of the Kh-101 cruise missile,

Which was developed in Russia during the 1990s. The first pictures of its use surfaced in 2007 and the weapon entered into service with the Russian Air Force in 2012. The Kh-101 is a subsonic cruise missile launched from a bomber.

It has a maximum speed of Mach 0.76 and can carry conventional warheads between 400 and 450 kilograms. It can also carry nuclear warheads up to 20 kilotons, the same yield as the Fat Man bomb dropped on Nagasaki at the end of World War II.

The most formidable aspect of this cruise missile is its stealthy design. The Kh-101 is designed for low visibility and to have a minimal cross-section on radar. It flies at low altitudes as well, sometimes as low as 30 meters, further protecting it from radar observation.

The missile can hit targets to an accuracy of less than ten meters and has a range of 3,000 kilometers. The Kh-101 has good precision features, as it is capable of striking targets in motion and can change its target if need be. The Kh-101’s guidance system, called the Otblesk-U, is equipped with electro-optical

Features to correct its flight path and a TV guidance system for when it descends to hit its target. At first glance, this weapon does not seem strange. Precision missiles are an important part of modern warfare. International security experts had hoped that sanctions on Russia would prevent it from

Getting the components needed to manufacture such missiles. For a while, it looked like this might have been the case as the intensity of Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities decreased. However, 2023 has proven that Russia can still manufacture its cruise missiles at scale.

Ukrainian troops have adapted to Russian cruise missiles and shot down a Kh-101 in January 2023 in the Vinnytsia region. This one surprised the soldiers, though, as it came with features they had not seen before. The missile had a camera resting within a circular window, which Ukrainian authorities

Speculated was part of its Otblesk-U guidance system. The camera had three fixed lenses capable of observing its targets at different angles. In contrast, earlier Kh-101 missiles that had been shot down and recovered had cameras that only had a single swivel lens. Ukrainian military officials claimed that this upgraded Kh-101 had a guidance system

More similar to the United States’ DSMAC (digital scene-matching area correlation), which has an internal database of relevant terrain imagery to help guide the projectile toward its target. This system can visually identify its targets to guide the projectile, rather than relying on a purely mathematical framework.

The DSMAC system is placed on some versions of the Tomahawk. However, the stranger thing was the discovery that these new versions of the Kh-101 could have onboard countermeasures. On one of the missile’s sides, there were two columns of six small holes which seemed capable of distributing countermeasures against threats, such as chaff.

X-Rays taken of the missile confirmed that it had heat traps to guard against infrared targeting, although without a significant set of surveillance cameras, it is impossible to try to counter these heat traps automatically. It is possible that a simple onboard radar warning receiver placed on the missile could

Trigger the chaffs’ deployment upon detection of pre-programmed radio frequency emissions, or the chaff could be automatically deployed on the predetermined points of vulnerability on the missile’s flight trajectory. Either way, the equipment found in this wrecked Kh-101 confirmed international fears that despite the sanctions, the Russian military was still capable of producing advanced cruise

Missiles. Other unusual weapons in Ukraine are far less spectacular. Attrition on both sides of the conflict has been high, with a consequent shortage of modern weapons and ammunition. This has forced both sides to look for ways to improvise.

Most famously, Russia has lost over 2,500 tanks since the start of the war, and this pressure has forced it to break its Cold War relics, like the T-54/55, out of storage and onto the battlefield. However, some of the weapons in Ukraine are much older than this. Old doesn’t necessarily mean ineffective, however.

Russia and Ukraine have both made use of older anti-aircraft guns to defend their air spaces. There is a necessity behind this decision, as there is simply not enough advanced missile-based ammunition to go around for modern surface-to-air missile systems. New weapons on the battlefield have also ironically made the older guns more relevant.

Because drones and many new missiles fly relatively low and slow, the old flak cannon is becoming a more relevant weapon again. After all, using an expensive missile to shoot down a cheap drone is not the most economical use of resources.

For example, archaic anti-aircraft guns are a good option for Ukraine to counter the Iranian-made Shahed-136 kamikaze drones that Russia has deployed in large numbers in the conflict. Experts at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) assessed that in countering these drones and other loitering munitions: “In general, gun systems are preferred over missiles where

Possible due to the much lower cost per engagement and higher availability of ammunition compared with SAMs and MANPADS.” The RUSI staff urged Western leaders to help make these anti-aircraft guns more effective. For example, the Soviet and Russian self-propelled anti-aircraft guns such as the Shilka and

Tunguska have had trouble against the Shahed and other kamikaze drones because they fly too low, but the German Flakpanzer Gepard has proven highly effective against them. Should these older weapons systems be outfitted with radar and laser-range finders, they could be much more effective in shooting down the Shahed-136 and other cheap, low-flying drones

Without exhausting the much more precious stockpile of surface-to-air missiles. Ukraine’s adoption of old-style flak cannons goes beyond defense, however. Using the flak cannon in an offensive fashion has proven equally effective. One of the more unusual uses of this type of weapon is in its tweaked use of the Soviet-era KS-19 anti-aircraft gun.

This weapon was first introduced in 1947 and fires a 100x695mm shell. Ukrainian troops are now mounting this gun on the back of ubiquitous civilian trucks, which allow them to be moved in and out of combat rapidly. Although old, Ukrainian troops are improvising with these guns in surprising ways.

The gunners are equipping them with tablet computers and pairing these with drones. Once the drones are in the sky, they can track Russian targets on the ground. The drones then send data back to the gunners, who then fire upon them, thus adapting the anti-aircraft gun for an anti-infantry and anti-armor role.

One artillerist involved in these operations, Sergeant Evegeny Iitvin, said that the process of modification was “very simple. It’s like a box with two antennas; you just put it on the gun, you put two antennas on the barrel, one on the edge of the barrel and the other on another side.”

Ukrainian forces are often paying for this KS-19 modification process with their own money, demonstrating the shortage of modern military equipment but also their ingenuity and the relatively low cost of adapting these old anti-aircraft guns for modern purposes. According to Itvin and others, this process, which was first reported in November 2023,

Had already killed 1,000 Russian soldiers. The modified KS-19 gun is capable of hitting targets spread up to 328 feet apart and it can kill dozens of enemy troops in a single blast, making good use of each shot of ammunition. Even older weapons systems have proven equally effective on the modern battlefield.

One of the oldest weapons seen in use in Ukraine is the World War I-era M1910 Maxim machine gun, which had its design origins in the 1880s. The belt-fed machine gun fires the type of 7.62x54mm ammunition that has been in use

In Russia since 1891, meaning that there are almost limitless rounds available for it. The machine gun is also water-cooled, making it versatile and durable compared to air-cooled machine guns, which often overheat, even in winter temperatures.

In theory, an M1910 machine gun can fire indefinitely as long as it has access to water and ammunition. The Maxim machine gun is also surprisingly easy to modify for modern purposes. Ukrainian soldiers have been spotted placing modern optical equipment and camouflage on it, as well as a stock and suppressor.

After seeing some use in early 2022, the M1910 Maxim reappeared in the Battle of Bakhmut. The weapon’s main strength is to protect defensive positions and this is how Ukrainian troops have used it. In Bakhmut, Ukrainian operators used it to mow down swathes of Russian attackers in scenes

Which harkened back to its World War I heyday. In this 21st century version of trench warfare, defenders can mount a series of M1910 Maxim guns, a remote controlled rig that can spin 360 degrees. During the battle, video spread on TikTok of Ukrainian troops firing four of these machine

Guns at the same time, with each gun’s ammunition belt fed from ammunition canisters strapped to a rig. One Ukrainian soldier said of the M1910 Maxim: “It only works when there is a massive attack going on…then it really works.” The M1910 is not the only old weapon that has worked for Ukrainian troops.

The DP-27 Degtyaryov light machine gun is another old automatic weapon being used by some units in Ukraine’s reserve forces. This weapon was introduced in 1928 and was once called “Stalin’s record player” on account of the drum magazine mounted on top of it.

Before the war, the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces were spotted with it near Kyiv. Once the invasion began, images circulated of units there defending the capital with this weapon. The DP-27 was, like many other Soviet weapons, designed to be reliable in extreme conditions, such as freezing temperatures and mud.

The weapon is chambered for the ubiquitous 7.62x54mm round and the notable pan magazine can hold a total of 47 rounds. It is capable of firing 550 shots per minute, which is lower than other, more modern machine guns but since the DP-27 is air-cooled, the lower rate of fire reduces the chance for

Barrel overheating. Unlike some troops using other older weapons in the war, Ukrainian troops using the DP-27 have not seemed to complain about the weapon and remain in good spirits with it. One video circulating on social media in March 2022 showed one of the soldiers pretending

To be a DJ with it and dancing to a tune with a smile on his face. Such small gestures often help to maintain morale and basic humanity under hellish conditions. In its defense of entrenched positions, the Maxim machine gun has proven itself useful

In a modern setting and the DP-27 seems to be good enough to fulfill its intended mission. However, other weird weapons in Ukraine have only made their appearance for a true lack of better alternatives. One of these weapons is the Mosin-Nagant bolt action rifle, which saw widespread service

In the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union from the 1890s until the end of World War II. Although the Mosin-Nagant exited active service in the late 1940s, it was still produced in Soviet factories until the 1970s, and because so many millions of these weapons were manufactured

Over nearly a century, they have been used during the war when the supply of modern weapons is short. In April 2023, Reuters reported that conscripts fighting in the separatist armies in the Donbas region lacked proper equipment and so were armed with the archaic Mosin-Nagant rifle.

Images circulating on social media at the time also purportedly showed these troops carrying the Mosin-Nagant, though Reuters could not independently verify them. In July 2022, video surfaced of a Russian company commander complaining that his men, too, were using the 1944 variant of the Mosin-Nagant, due to a shortage of equipment.

A few months later, when Putin announced his partial mobilization and drafted 300,000 reservists, there were also reports that some of them were being issued the Mosin-Nagant instead of modern assault rifles. Given the other equipment shortages facing these troops in particular, such as a lack

Of proper body armor, the Mosin-Nagant’s presence among some of these troops seemed consistent with what we know about Russian logistics. The Mosin-Nagant rifle has a clip of five 7.62x54mm rounds. It is a bolt action rifle, meaning that the operator must cycle the bolt back to eject

A spent cartridge and load the next one into the chamber. Bolt action rifles are more accurate per shot than semi-automatic or fully automatic assault rifles, which is why snipers still use them. For a front line unit, however, it is not ideal, as these weapons have too slow of a

Rate of fire by modern standards. The issuance of this weapon to front-line troops had many war watchers calling them cannon fodder, a fact which many of the Russian conscripts agreed with. Separatist troops from Donbas have also been seen using the World War II-era PTRS-41 anti-tank rifle.

This weapon was first brought into Soviet Service in 1941 and fires a 14.5x144mm armor-piercing round. During the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II, Soviet forces often mounted these guns on rooftops and fired down at the thinner turret armor of German Panzers. 80 years later,

Forces from Donetsk were seen with them, still carrying the nearly century-old ammunition cartridges as well. The PTRS-41 is a semi-automatic weapon with the ammunition stacked in an overlapping pattern similar to the famous M1 Garand, making for a clip that attaches to the gun.

Unfortunately for the operators of the PTRS-41, this design was not as well-done as the American version and it makes the weapon prone to jamming. There are scant reports about the PTRS-41’s effectiveness against modern tanks. The separatist militias fighting alongside the Russian forces in Ukraine might be using

It in a more general anti-material role. This weapon would be effective against more lightly armored vehicles and supply trucks, at least. Widespread reports of the use of archaic small arms within the Russian and separatist forces indicate their trouble. However, things have not always been smooth for Ukrainian forces, either.

Ukraine has also been forced to break decades-old small arms out of storage since modern weapons are in such short supply. Another archaic weapon in the service of Ukraine is the TT-33 pistol, which entered into use for the Soviet Union in the 1930s.

Since over a million of these weapons were manufactured during its service life, they are easy to find and break out of storage when required. The TT-33 is a semi-automatic pistol that comes with an 8-round magazine, chambered for a 7.62x25mm round.

Both Russian and Ukrainian troops have been seen carrying this weapon in the conflict. One of the more interesting videos related to its use came from Ukrainian soldiers attempting to test the steel plates in captured Russian body armor during the summer of 2022.

Although the steel plate held against the TT-33’s round, the pistol demonstrated that it could put significant deformation and cracks into the metal, which would fail to protect the wearer from the energy imparted by the round. As many Russian troops do not even have this level of protection with their body armor

(if indeed they have body armor at all), even the TT-33’s low-caliber round poses a danger to Russia’s troops. Although there are understandably not many reports of pistols being used in this war, the lack of proper Russian body armor means that the TT-33 will be a threat to many of

The Kremlin’s soldiers, especially the conscripts, in close quarters. Ukraine has also been forced to improvise and create makeshift weapons on the spot. The country benefits from having a large population of engineers who know how to bootstrap. For example, the Ukrainians have turned shotguns into grenade launchers by attaching steel

Cups to the ends of their barrels. Once the user is ready to fire, all one needs to do is pull the pin out of a conventional grenade and then tuck the munition’s handle into the cup’s wall. Then the user can load a cartridge into the shotgun that has been emptied of the normal

Pellets. The blank round projects the cup and grenade into the air, which releases the latter’s handle and sends it on its explosive course. As one might expect, this is a dangerous method to launch a grenade, but with a shortage of

Modern weapons and ammunition, Ukrainian forces have often needed to make do with what they can get. Another makeshift innovation from both sides in the conflict includes a modification to the RPG-7. This weapon is normally a tank or vehicle killer and not particularly effective against infantry. Not to worry!

Smart engineers amongst irregular forces have modified the RPG-7 launcher to fire 82mm mortar rounds with fragmentation warheads to spread their effects against infantry over a broader area. This method has been in use for a long time, starting even before the full-scale Russian invasion.

Both forces in the earlier Donbas conflict had used the modified RPG-7 in this way. Ukraine has also used drones to give old weapons new life. For example, Ukrainian forces have modified the Soviet-era RKG-3 anti-tank grenade to be used with drones.

The drones drop these grenades on the turret of a tank where the armor is thinnest. The RKG-3, which first entered Soviet service in the early 1950s, was originally designed with a drogue parachute which opened up after a soldier threw it.

This design was meant to help guide the munition to the top of an enemy tank. However, this method is not ideal for drone use, so Ukrainian engineers have removed the parachutes and added 3D printed fins in their place.

The fins stabilize the munition in its descent while also allowing it to fall faster than the parachute design did. The total cost for using the RKG-3 grenade in this new way is less than $100 per shot, making it an efficient weapon, especially given the vulnerabilities of Russian tanks if their turrets are struck.

Similarly, Ukraine has requested that the United States send over the CBU-100 air-dropped cluster bomb. The Ukrainians do not desire to drop the bomb from the sky so much as to separate its canister and drop the separate cluster bomblets on top of Russian armored assets via drones.

Thus far, Washington has not granted the request. Necessity is the mother of invention and war is the ultimate necessity. Whether it is through unusual high-tech weapons or putting ancient weapons to new uses or being forced to use antiques for lack of better substitutes, the war in Ukraine has forced

Both sides to innovate and adapt. As the war now drags on into its third year, what other inventions, innovations, and crude adaptations do you think both sides will employ as depletion of modern weapons further kicks in? Don’t forget to let us know in the comments.

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