Video taken from inside a Syrian gunship shows DIY barrel bombs full of TNT explosive being dropped at random

A new series of videos, probably leaked from crew members of Syrian Air Force helicopters, show the famous DIY barrel bombs being dropped by Mil Mi-8/17 Hip gunships.

Barrel bombs are oil barrels, turned into explosive devices that are dropped over rebel forces across Syria by Assad’s choppers. They are believed to contain about 200 kg of TNT explosive and capable to destroy any building and surrounding area.

More details about such weapons can be found on many informative posts on Brown Moses and Bjørn Holst Jespersen’s blogs.

Noteworthy, for the first time such DIY barrel bombs can be seen being thrown almost at random, from medium/high-altitude, by the open rear door of a Syrian Arab Air Force helicopter.

The amount of explosive being carried by each helicopter involved in attack missions could explain the huge mid-air explosion of a Hip hit (most probably by a MANPADS) in the skies over Idlib on Oct. 17.

About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.