The Russian army's TOS-2 heavy flamethrower system has devastating power. (Source: Nationalinterest) |
TOS-2 is Russia's latest heavy flamethrower system, essentially a thermobaric rocket system, the first of which was the TOS-1 Buratino, developed in the 1970s.
If the TOS-1 and its successor, the TOS-1A Solntsepyok, were mounted on the T-72 tracked tank chassis, the TOS-2 was mounted on the Ural all-terrain armored vehicle chassis.
The wheeled chassis was more mobile than the tracked versions, the TOS-2 was significantly lighter - weighing only 20 tons compared to the TOS-1A's 46 tons.
New electronic protection equipment provides the TOS-2 with some protection against enemy high-precision weapons, and the on-board automatic fire control system significantly increases firing accuracy.
The TOS-2 also does not require a special loading vehicle as the system has an integrated loading crane.
The new ammunition allows the TOS-2 to hit targets at longer distances: while the TOS-1A can fire thermobaric ammunition at a distance of up to 6 km, the TOS-2 can fire at least 10 km (according to some military experts, up to 14-15 km).
If a 24-barrel TOS-1A is capable of burning an area of up to 40 thousand square meters, then a salvo of the 18-barrel TOS-2 can turn an area of 60 thousand square meters into a fiery inferno.
The thermobaric ammunition used in the TOS-2 makes this complex an ideal means of destroying enemy infantry both in open areas and in dugouts, clearing enemy fortifications, and turning enemy light armored vehicles into a pile of charred scrap metal.
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