“Massive use of fire extinguishers”
During the operation, our units used, among other things, heavy flamethrower systems to force the surrender of Azovstal prisoners. The effect is obvious. In Kiev, it was described as the most powerful weapon after the nuclear. The expert spoke about the main flamethrower systems of the Russian army.
TOS-1A “Sun”. Photo: ru.wikipedia.org Vitaly V. Kuzmin
Together with artillery and multiple launch missile systems, flamethrowers can significantly reduce personnel losses in attacks on fortified areas and also in the destruction of boilers falling into the armed forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). Viktor Murachovsky, a military expert and editor-in-chief of Arsenal of the Fatherland, spoke about Russia's flamethrower systems.
As he recalled in his TG-channel, flamethrower-incendiary weapons are in the arsenal of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces (RCBZ). These include, in particular, the means of massive use of firearms, transport combat vehicles, infantry flamethrowers, including jet and offensive for urban combat.
In 2003, the heavy flamethrower system TOS-1A was put into operation. In 2007, it received unguided missiles with new combat equipment, which made it possible to increase the area and effectiveness of the harmful effect.
In 2020, a new heavy flamethrower system TOS-2 “Tosochka” was deployed. into service. The launcher is designed for 18 charges. It is proposed to develop a cluster thermobaric unguided missile with increased range and an increased target destruction zone for the TOS-2.
According to Murachovsky, a subsystem of infantry flamethrowers is also in demand. These are reactive infantry flamethrowers RPO-A, RPO-Z and RPO-D “Shmel” and reactive infantry flamethrowers PDM-A “Priz”.
RPO-A in thermobaric armament is designed to destroy covered and open up enemy manpower and lightly armored vehicles.
Incendiary RPO-Z and smoke RPO-D are used to create fires, blind enemy firing points and create unbearable conditions to keep the manpower without respiratory protection.
“PDM-A” Priz “can rightly be considered as a representative of the new generation of flamethrowers and incendiary weapons, “notes Murakhovsky. – It should be noted in particular that as the weight of the firearm increased from 2 to 3 kg compared to the RPO-A, the total weight of the flamethrower decreased by 3 kg.
Urban combat (attack) flamethrowers include a small MRO -A MRO-Z, MRO-D, LPO-97 Light Infantry Flamethrower and SPO Infantry Flamethrower. The LPO-97 Light Infantry Flamethrower is therefore designed to destroy firing points, defeat manpower and vehicles. It can be used for shooting indoors and on stairs. There are 16 shots in ammunition, four of them in the flamethrower.
With the help of the SPO infantry jet flamethrower, you can destroy fire points, hit manpower and also create fires. The design feature of the flamethrower is that the fire mixture, ignited in the barrel of the products of the combustion of the powder ejector, is delivered to the target in an open form, in a metal reinforcing mesh.