US Army Testing Thermite Blowtorch for Breaching Operations

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The U.S. Army has managed to redesign the thermite grenade in order to make it work as a tiny blowtorch, capable of cutting through steel doors, gates, and other obstacles.

The Scalable Thermite Breaching Tool is the Army’s attempt at giving soldiers a lighter alternative to carrying heavy breaching tools when it comes to breaching into certain areas.

Thermite is a pyrotechnic composition of a metal powder, which serves as fuel, and metal oxide. Thermite hand grenades are typically used by armed forces in both an anti-materiel role and in the partial destruction of equipment.

“The point is to make it as light as possible for the soldiers to carry,” a military official told Military.com. “Essentially, instead of a guy having to carry around a backpack full of cutting tools or a torch system … or using high explosives and making a lot of racket, you can bring one of these little things and have the same utility.”

Today, the U.S. military breaches through steel and other obstacles by burning a hole in the obstacle with the help of the AN-M14 TH3 Incendiary Grenade. The incendiary grenade is an effective approach, but it is not very accurate.

The problem with today’s approach towards incendiary breaching is that burning a little hole through reinforced steel or a heavy deadbolt isn’t always enough to do the trick. The new breaching tool is designed to feature a nozzle so that soldiers can use the thermite jet as a cutting tool, making it possible for the operator to cut straight lines.

The tiny blowtorch is designed to be around half the size and weight of the incendiary grenade forces currently use to assist in breaching. The device is capable of burning holes in inch thick steel.

The technology is still in testing phases, but military officials hope it will be greenlit for the field by 2021.