Military analysts say Ukrainian forces have destroyed two destructive TOS-1A “Blazing Sun” multiple thermobaric rocket launch systems, capable of firing up to 24 “flamethrower” missiles holding aerosol explosives, also known as “vacuum bombs,” Newsweek reports.
Prior to the Ukraine invasion, Russia was believed to have about 50 of the weapons systems available for operations. Designed in the 1980s using a T-72 tank chassis, the TOS-1A was used in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to blast reinforced positions or bases built into caves. According to analysts, in the early days of the war, Ukraine captured a handful of the platforms and destroyed at least three others. British intelligence reported the Ukrainians have used at least one of the captured TOS-1As on Russian forces.
Aerosol bombs use a two-stage explosive to inflict heavy damage on the enemy. The first charge releases a fuel mix into the atmosphere, using the oxygen in the air to fuel a larger more, deadlier blast. This makes a thermobaric bomb deadlier when attack hardened positions, but a volley of multiple rockets can literally suck the oxygen from a region of the battlefield, destroying lightly-armoured vehicles, devastating troop formations, and opening up swaths of territory for advancing troops.