TOS-1A missile launcher is the most destructive Russian weapon after the nuclear weapon

 

    TOS-1A missile launcher is capable of firing a package of missiles with two types of warheads, thermal and incendiary. This weapon has proven its destructive power in several hotspots of tension around the world, such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and others, and left horrific effects in all wars in which it was used due to its ability to carry missiles with high explosive fuel-air warheads.

The weight of the Russian missile launcher "TOS-1A" is about 45 tons, and it is installed on the chassis of a "T-90S" tank, while previous versions were installed on the chassis of the "T-72" tank, and it can launch at a speed of about 60 kilometers per hour.

It can inflict heavy losses on the ranks of the enemy forces, isolate the areas it targets and cut off its supply lines, thanks to its high firepower, which can burn military sites in a few seconds.

It is an upgraded model of the "TOS-1" launcher, and it can be prepared for launch in just 90 seconds, with a range of between 400 and 6,000 meters.

It has 24 tubes (30 tubes in the old version), which makes it capable of launching 24 missiles within a period estimated at 6 seconds in the case of a double launch, and 12 seconds in the case of a single launch.

The launcher is also equipped with an accompanying support vehicle during battles that carry 48 other missiles.

It can launch 220 mm thermal missiles equipped with solid fuel engines and equipped with at least two types of warheads (incendiary and thermal) with vacuum shells, known as "air-fuel explosives", which convert air into flaming fires and cause great destruction because they have a much greater blast wave compared to conventional weapons.

"Burning Sun" can rotate 360 degrees the moment it launches the missiles, and the launch process is controlled by an electronic system that enables the Russian missile launcher to locate its targets with high accuracy.

Thanks to its ability to launch missiles in all directions with a range of 6 kilometers, the Russian missile launcher can cover a combat area of up to 40 square kilometers.

It is also characterized by the speed of maneuvering during battles and its ability to hide on the battlefields, as it is equipped with a smoke generation system that provides it with a cover that prevents its exact location from being determined by enemy forces.

Russian missile launcher "TOS-1A" can carry 3 personnel, namely the driver, commander, and gunner.

The first use of the Russian missile launcher in its old version, which was called "TOS-1", and the Russians nicknamed it "Buratino" (an old cartoon character), dates back to the period between 1988 and 1989, in the Panjshir Valley against Afghan fighters, during the Russian-Afghan war.

In 1999, the Russian army used it in the second Chechen war, when the capital, Grozny, was besieged. At that time, the Russian launcher showed great destructive capabilities, as its explosions blew up entire buildings and residential neighborhoods, and it also detonated mines that had been planted by Chechen fighters, as a result of which the Chechen capital turned into a destroyed wasteland.

As for the TOS-1A, the upgraded version of the TOS-1, it entered service for the first time officially by the Russian army in 2001.

When the "Burning Sun" system fires thermal missiles, equipped with warheads, with vacuum shells known as "fuel-air explosives", a large cloud of hot, high-pressure, flammable gases spreads in the air, and these gases begin to leak inside buildings, caves, etc. before causing a strong fiery explosion after its interaction with a secondary explosive.

The fiery explosion leads to the destruction of the site of the explosion and the surrounding buildings and trenches, with fire igniting in the air, absorbing oxygen from the place surrounding the explosion and even from inside the human lungs, causing fatal burns and suffocation of the victims leading to their death.

The absorption of oxygen in the air as a result of the explosion produces an attack of atmospheric pressure to compensate for the negative pressure caused by the explosion, which leads to the destruction and annihilation of everything present in and around the place of the explosion, killing the victims directly and mutilating their bodies horribly, and breaking their bones and rupturing their organs and subjecting them to internal bleeding, which makes the protective shields and hard head helmet worn by the soldiers ineffective in the face of the force of this deadly weapon.

The former Soviet Union adopted and developed this weapon, shortly after it was used for the first time by the United States of America, which is considered the first to use this type of weapon, and employed it in many wars that it waged in various regions around the world, such as the Vietnam War and its war against the Taliban movement and the pursuit of the former leader of al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden in the mountains of Afghanistan.

"Tosochka-2", also called "Tosochka", is the latest generation of flamethrower systems or the Russian "Tos-1A" missile launcher, nicknamed "Burning Sun". This new version was revealed for the first time during the Russian military parade on the occasion of Victory Day in May 2020.

Unlike the TOS-1A, which is installed on the chassis of a T-90S tank, the TOS-2 is installed on a 6 by 6 armored military truck, manufactured and designed by the Russian company Ural. The TOS-2 contains 18 tubes (3 rows of 6 tubes) that allow it to launch 18 missiles, unlike its predecessor, which had 24 tubes.

The "TOS-2" is also distinguished by its ability to launch 220 mm thermal missiles, powered by solid fuel, with a launch range between 3,500 and 100,000 meters, unlike the "TOS-1A", which ranges between 400 and 6,000 meters.

The "TOS-2" has a special lifting mechanism attached to it, and it does not need an accompanying vehicle, as is the case with the "TOS-1A". It also needs only 90 seconds to prepare to launch the first missile. It has a crew of 5, and it is equipped with modern navigation equipment. It can launch a package of missiles from rugged places that are not equipped for the launch process.

It can go at speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour.

And media sources - including the Russian news agency TASS - reported that the Russian forces had deployed the "TOS-2" missile launcher in Ukraine, in preparation for its use in combat.

Source: websites