Just How Powerful Russia’s Terrifying TOS 1A Thermobaric Rocket Launchers Now In Ukraine.
The TOS-1A, which Russia categorizes as a "heavy flamethrower," is a unique type of multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) based on a T-72 tank chassis. The TOS-1 was first used during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, and was also deployed in Chechnya and the Syrian civil war. It can launch two types of warheads — incendiary and fuel-air explosives. The latter, also called vacuum or thermobaric rockets, work by using oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion. According to some sources, thermobaric weapons can vaporize human bodies and crush internal organs. It has an infamous reputation based on the characteristics of the thermobaric rockets that it fires.
