Footage of the TOS-2 Tosochka heavy flamethrower system was published by russian state media RIA Novosti, the vehicle was claimed to open fire on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and hit the target, identified by russians as "enemy infantry." The Ministry of Defense of Russia confirms deployment of the system in Ukraine.
Read more: The Defense Forces of Ukraine Showed a Spectacular Video of russia’s Heavy Flamethrower System’s Defeat
For the first time, this mobile rocket system was mentioned in the context of the Ukrainian war on May 28th, 2022. A short notice from TASS quoted a "source in the military" telling them about TOS-2 allegedly used in battle but no visuals were supporting it. Now we have the video.
Right away we can spot one of the features pertaining to the modernized TOS-2 Tosochka compared to TOS-1: it has a crane so it doesn't need a separate reloading vehicle. The chassis rests on wheels instead of tracks, it is the Ural-63706 truck with additional armor applied to the cabin.
As for the combat capabilities, the upgraded rocket launcher has even fewer tubes – 18 on TOS-2 compared to 24 on TOS-1A Solntsepyok and 30 on the progenitor TOS-1 Buratino.
According to open source data, TOS-2 received a new type of rocket, the TBS-M3 which should have a 2.5 times increased range: 15 km instead of 6 km of standard TOS-1 munitions. Precision has improved; aiming, launch initiation, and fire control systems were automated.
The flamethrower was presented during the Kavkaz military drills in 2020, and then it proved the declared characteristics, in particular by deploying new TBS-M3 munitions. Back then, russia carried plans for TOS-2 to fully replace older TOS-1 and TOS-1A all of the regiments in the Southern Military District. There is no relevant data as to how many of them could be in service with the russian army.
On the other hand, the vehicles of the previous generation have been confirmed to take part in hostilities in Ukraine. For some, it ended badly: since February 2022, the russians lost at least ten TOS-1A rocket systems, either destroyed, damaged or even captured by Ukrainian forces, and seven more TZM-T reloading vehicles supporting the launcher.
Read more: Metal Cage Did Not Save This TOS-1A Solntsepyok From Destruction by Ukrainian FPV Drone (Video)
