Profile
- Type
- 220 mm thermobaric multiple rocket launcher
- Origin
- Russia
- Service note
- 2000s-present
Artillery
TOS-1A Solntsepyok
The TOS-1A Solntsepyok is a Russian tracked heavy flamethrower system that functions as a short-range thermobaric multiple rocket launcher. Built around a BM-1 launcher on a tank chassis with transporter-loaders, it fires unguided 220 mm rockets to support infantry and armor against fortified positions, vehicles, and troops in cover. In the Russia-Ukraine War it has been documented in Russian service near the front line, where its short range creates both destructive local effects and high vulnerability to Ukrainian targeting.
- Built by
- Omsktransmash (Uralvagonzavod)
- Built in
- Russia
Service History
- In service
- Russian service from the early 2000s; documented in the Russia-Ukraine War from 2022
- Used by
- Russian Armed Forces, Ukrainian Armed Forces (captured examples)
- Wars
- Russia-Ukraine War
Production History
- Designer
- Omsk Transport Machine-Building Design Bureau
- Designed
- Late Soviet development; TOS-1A modernization entered service in the early 2000s
- Built by
- Omsktransmash (Uralvagonzavod)
- Built in
- Russia
- Unit cost
- Not publicly standardized
- Produced
- 2000s-present
- Number built
- Not publicly confirmed
- Variants
- BM-1 launcher vehicle, TZM-T tracked transporter-loader, TZM 563K wheeled transporter-loader
Specifications
- Launcher
- BM-1 tracked launch vehicle with 24 220 mm rocket tubes
- Ammunition
- Unguided incendiary and thermobaric rockets
- Firing range
- About 600 m to 6,000 m with MO.1.01.04 / MO.1.01.04M rockets
- Combat weight
- About 44.3 t for the BM-1 combat vehicle
- Mobility
- Up to 60-65 km/h road speed; about 550 km cruising range
- Support vehicles
- System includes two transporter-loaders on tracked or wheeled chassis
Conflict Usage
- Russia-Ukraine War
- Side: RussiaUkraine
Russian forces have used TOS-1A thermobaric rocket launchers in Ukraine against fixed positions and urban defensive terrain; U.S. Army OE reporting also notes Ukrainian use of at least one captured system near Kreminna in 2023.
TOS-1A Solntsepyok Images
Related Weapon Systems
BM-30 Smerch300 mm heavy multiple launch rocket systemThe BM-30 Smerch, also designated 9K58, is a Soviet-designed heavy multiple launch rocket system built around a 12-tube 300 mm launcher on an 8x8 wheeled chassis. Its long-range rockets can carry high-explosive, cluster, and thermobaric warheads, making it a deep-fire artillery system rather than a front-line direct-fire weapon. In the Russia-Ukraine War, documented Russian use of 9M55K Smerch cluster rockets has tied the system to attacks on Ukrainian urban areas including Kharkiv and Mykolaiv.
TOS-2 TosochkaWheeled 220 mm thermobaric multiple rocket launcherThe TOS-2 Tosochka is Russia's wheeled successor to the TOS-1A heavy flamethrower system, using 220 mm thermobaric and incendiary rockets from an 18-tube launcher on a Ural 6x6 truck. Its built-in crane, automated fire-control equipment, and wheeled chassis are intended to make the system more mobile and less dependent on a separate loading vehicle, while Russian forces have fielded it during the Russia-Ukraine War.
BM-27 Uragan220 mm self-propelled multiple launch rocket systemThe BM-27 Uragan is a Soviet 220 mm wheeled multiple launch rocket system built around a 16-tube launcher on the ZIL-135LM chassis. Its heavier rockets give it greater payload and range than BM-21 Grad-class systems, with warhead options including high-explosive fragmentation, cluster, and mine-scattering rounds. In the Russia-Ukraine War it remains a legacy heavy rocket artillery system used for area fires, minelaying, and counter-battery targets by forces that inherited or captured Uragan-family stocks.
Bureviy220 mm self-propelled multiple launch rocket systemBureviy is a Ukrainian 220 mm multiple launch rocket system that modernizes the BM-27 Uragan concept with a Tatra T815-7 8x8 chassis, digital fire-control equipment, and compatibility with Uragan-family rockets. Built by Shepetivka Repair Plant, it gives Ukrainian artillery a more mobile and networked heavy rocket launcher while retaining the 16-tube 220 mm rocket package used for area fires.
M270 MLRSTracked multiple launch rocket systemThe M270 MLRS is a tracked, armored multiple launch rocket system built around two launch-pod containers for guided rockets or tactical missiles. In Ukrainian service during the Russia-Ukraine War, donated M270-family launchers complement HIMARS by carrying a larger rocket load on a heavier tracked chassis for long-range precision fires.
RM-70 Vampire122 mm self-propelled multiple launch rocket systemThe RM-70 Vampire is a Czech modernization of the Czechoslovak RM-70 Grad-family multiple launch rocket system, pairing a forty-tube 122 mm launcher with a Tatra 815-7 8x8 chassis and an automatic reload pack. In Ukrainian service it provides mobile area-fire and counter-battery rocket artillery during the Russia-Ukraine War.Sources
TOS-1A Heavy Flame-ThrowerPublisher: Rosoboronexport | Note: Official export product page describing the TOS-1A role, BM-1 launcher, transporter-loaders, thermobaric projectiles, weight, speed, and range figures. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Heavy flamethrower multiple rocket launcher system SolntsepyokPublisher: National Defence University of Ukraine | Note: Reference entry listing manufacturer, caliber, rocket count, firing range, weight, mobility, and background for the Solntsepyok system. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Joint-Stock Company Omsk Transport Machine FactoryPublisher: Defence Intelligence of Ukraine | Note: Identifies Omsktransmash as a producer of the TOS-1A Solntsepyok and places it within Uralvagonzavod and Rostec. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Russia's Thermobaric Weapons Employment in the Ukrainian ConflictPublisher: U.S. Army TRADOC G-2 Operational Environment Enterprise | Note: Supports Russia-Ukraine War direct conflict use by documenting TOS-1A deployment and employment in Ukraine, including Russian use against fixed positions and reporting of Ukrainian use of a captured system near Kreminna. | Accessed: 2026-06-20TOS-1A ParkPatriot at Army-2016.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Primary image source for a BM-1 TOS-1A Solntsepyok display vehicle, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0 by the uploader. | Accessed: 2026-06-20NBCProtectionExercise2019-22.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Gallery image source for a TOS-1A during Russian NBC-protection troop firing, listed as CC BY 4.0 with Mil.ru attribution. | Accessed: 2026-06-20