A new version of the Solntsepek, the TOS-3 Dragon, was shown in Russia for the first time.
TOS-3 “Dragon” should provide a significantly longer range than TOS-1A “Solntsepek” due to the use of new thermobaric unguided missiles from TOS-2 “Tosochka”
The first public demonstration of a new self-propelled flamethrower system based on the TOS-3 Dragon tank, developed by Omsktransmash, took place in Russia. The main feature of the development, according to the Rashists, is the longer range of thermobaric unguided missiles compared to the TOS-1A Solntsepek.
This event, despite Russia’s traditional attempts to present any development as a unique analog achievement, was rather strange – it was held only as part of a public event on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the 1st CBRN Brigade of the Russian Army.
At the same time, quite a bit of time passed between the first information about the development in early 2024, the announcement of the prototype in April, and the demonstration of the prototype. This may be an indication that the development itself was not just based on off-the-shelf solutions, but by reassembling ready-made components and assemblies.
In particular, the photo shows that the new package, which is obviously borrowed from the TOS-2 Tosochka, has been reduced from 18 to 15 guides. It is also immediately equipped with a “grill” and the Volnorez electronic warfare system, which has shown its controversial effectiveness.
It should be noted that this is not the first time that the TOS has lost its volley power – the TOS-1A Solntsepek has 24 guides, and the Soviet TOS-1 Buratino had 30. The decrease in the number was due to the launcher’s looseness during salvo firing and an attempt to improve accuracy. Therefore, it is possible that similar reasons were behind the reduction of the package for TOS-3.
Moreover, the whole idea behind the TOS-3 is to integrate longer-range unguided missiles, which are more demanding in terms of guidance accuracy and guide stability. According to declarations, depending on the source, their range is from 15 kilometers to 24 kilometers, compared to 6-10 km for TOS-1A, although in practice it is often less than 5 km, due to the guidance system.
According to the original concept of use, the TOS-1A is supposed to come into line of sight of the target and measure the range with a laser rangefinder, perform automatic ballistic calculation, and raise the guides to the desired angle.
At the same time, the idea behind the longer-range TOS-2 was to ensure accurate firing from closed positions. And outriggers are added for horizontalization and stability during shooting.
However, the range of the TOS-2 Tosochka still implies being in close proximity to “zero” and being exposed to counter-battery fire. And this was the reason for the creation of the TOS-3, again on a tank chassis.
