TOS family Heavy Flamethrowers

Same truck as the Phlox 120mm mortar system.

Well with it being a standard wheeled vehicle I would expect either a Typhoon or Boomerang type wheeled base with it being more Typhoon armoured truck rather than Boomerang BTR type basis.

Either way they will be a fraction of the cost to operate...

What is this one?

JohninMK wrote:What is this one?

The launcher portion looks photoshopped.

magnumcromagnon wrote:

JohninMK wrote:What is this one?

The launcher portion looks photoshopped.

The launcher portion looks like TOS...

That new mine layer looks interesting... such a vehicle would be very useful to rapidly block certain directions an enemy could move rapidly through.... AFAIK anti personel mines are banned by agreement with the US being outside that agreement, but Russia is abiding by it so this must be an anti vehicle type mine layer...

Russia at final stage of testing latest heavy flamethrower

As compared to the TOS-1 and TOS-1A heavy flame-throwing systems, the Tosochka is mounted on the wheeled chassis and needs no transporter-loader vehicle

The Tosochka heavy flamethrower is also outfitted with electronic warfare systems against precision weapons, Chemezov said.

https://tass.com/defense/1182093

TOS-2 in action

TOS-1 in Afghanistan. In the 80´s.

Latest heavy flamethrowers TOS-2 go on trial tests with Russian troops

https://tass.com/defense/1223255

The TOS-2 also features an electronic warfare system against precision weapons.

Interesting...

The range of the first Buratino weapons was only 3.5 km. Subsequently, it was brought to 6 km. New ammunition, tested in exercises in 2020, will increase the reach at once by two and a half times, up to 15 km.

Izvestia source
https://iz.ru/1090628/anton-lavrov-roman-kretcul/mashiny-ogon-samokhodnye-ognemety-zhdet-sereznaia-modernizatciia

https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1331627327894286338

According to Izvestia, Russia will upgrade its approx 100 TOS-1 and TOS-1A thermobaric MLRS with new rockets with a 15km range, digital communications systems, and access to the "military internet" to integrate them into the Reconnaissance Fire Contour.

Izvestia also reports that all of the Southern Military District's TOS MLRS will be replaced by wheeled TOS-2 Tosochka systems, but the tracked TOS-1 and TOS-1A variants will remain in service with the other districts.

Good move, with increased rocker range the wheeled chassis is the way to go, simpler, cheaper faster

Longer ranged rockets allow to relax a bit the off-road requirements for tactical mobility and therefore get a more practical truck mounted system... it is so nice when people use their brains...

3.5-6km is too bad. It puts it directly in the range of atgm's or anti material rifles. At such range they are also easy to spot on thermals.

15km removes such threats.

lyle6 wrote:Eh, not really. The wheeled variant is only replacing the tracked Tos in Russia's highly mountainous Caucasus region. It seems counter-intuitive, but it makes sense given that most traffic is going to be road-bound. Can't exactly go and loop around and make your own path when there's a very high risk of you getting stuck in someplace unreachable by recovery vehicles, or worse, falling off sheer cliffs. But once you get into Russia's vast steppe expanses where uneven terrain and mud are your primary constraints then the tracked variants becomes the much better option.

I assumed the increased ranged rockets would allow the wheeled version to engage the enemy without needing to go very far from the network of roads and paths and offer much better theater mobility and economy of operation than tracked vehicles, but I admit I don't know if such rocket range is enough for such concept of operations in Russia or just maybe in some more developed regions. Of course what you say makes sense, I will try to keep an eye on the deployment of the TOS-2

3.5-6km is too bad. It puts it directly in the range of atgm's or anti material rifles. At such range they are also easy to spot on thermals.

15km removes such threats.

That version is tank based and intended to move with front line units to clear minefields in real time directly in front of friendly tank forces... once those TOS rounds start going off I don't think anything in the target area will be able to respond and anything beyond that will not be seeing much through the flames and debris...

The purpose of the new rockets and their new wheeled chassis is mobility and operational costs, which are increased and decreased dramatically.

Following from behind from a distance these trucks can operate with other non combat vehicles in a division so they wont be sitting anywhere on their own and vulnerable, but will be able to obliterate enemy trenches or minefields blocking an armoured force...

Remember these are not artillery... that is extra and separate... these are engineer vehicles used to clear mines and clear entrenched enemy infantry in armoured bunkers and firing positions that tanks are struggling with.

Still, a single guy with an atgm will take it out easily from 4km away while he won't be detected.

I think when you talk about the range, you are thinking of an empty, open field.

While true, these things are more geared towards.... Heavily entrenched guys where you can strike from a decent distance while hiding (hence it is an artillery piece) and or.... More brutal like striking a town.

Yes, longer range would be nice but I think they figured out the reason for this system and it isn't an open field and just decimate things.

This are not engineer vehicles, they are heavy flamethrowers and belong to the "chemical troops" which are part of the NBC protection service.

The TOS-1 was developed for infantry support in mountainous and urban areas.

The tactics for the TOS changed a little bit in the last 2 - 3 years. Before it was used more in a direct fire support role, ie. a infantry unit entered a city and a TOS unit waited outside the city limits to fire salvos into enemy held building. The range of the old missiles was sufficient for that. Today the TOS is more used like a normal rocket launcher. The arm calls it "wheel of fire" (or something similar), first a unit of Tornado-G fires a salvo, then leaves his position, in the meantime the TOS unit fires a salvo. I guess that´s why the new missiles got larger range.

Hole wrote:The arm calls it "wheel of fire" (or something similar), first a unit of Tornado-G fires a salvo, then leaves his position, in the meantime the TOS unit fires a salvo.

A bit like a 'double tap' from Hades.