Video: Ukraine Uses HIMARS to Blow Up Russian 'Blazing Sun' Flamethrower

Ukraine's military on Tuesday posted a video claiming to show its forces using a U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launcher to destroy a Russian TOS-1A "Blazing Sun" rocket activator.

The Solntsepyok, also called the Blazing Sun launcher in reference to its prowess as a heavy flamethrower, was reportedly taken out by Kyiv's forces in southern Ukraine, according to a post on Telegram by the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SSO).

The Solntsepyok is capable of firing several dozen thermobaric rockets and can be mounted on different main battle tank chassis. In March, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense (MoD) wrote that Solntsepyoks can create "incendiary and blast effects" that last longer than conventional explosives, resulting in "devastating" impacts.

"It can destroy infrastructure and cause significant damage to internal organs and flash burns, resulting in death to those exposed," the MoD said.

The SSO's Telegram post included a video that shows a series of blasts before a large explosion. Ukraine's Ministry of Defense later shared the video on X, formerly Twitter, and captioned the post: "HIMARS time is always the best time!"

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Defense via email on Tuesday for comment.

"This is what the detonation of Solntsepyok's thermobaric ammunition looks like," the Kyiv Post wrote in a story about the incident.

"Solntsepyok's thermobaric munition forms a cloud of explosive mixture and then detonates it," the Kyiv Post added. "After the instant of detonation, the atmospheric pressure in the cloud jumps sharply, and then drops just as rapidly ... So, even if the enemy manages to survive after the explosion itself, such a sharp pressure drop almost guarantees death from the rupture of internal organs."

The SSO said a team of drone operators from its 73rd Maritime Center on a reconnaissance mission discovered the Blazing Sun rocket launcher as it hid underneath the cover of treetops. The drone team then sent the coordinates to HIMARS operators.

"As a result of the fire damage, Solntsepyok was completely destroyed (watch the video to witness its spectacular flames)," the SSO's caption said, according to a translation by the Kyiv Post.

The Kyiv Post also noted that the Solntsepyok is "large and weakly armored," which makes it "vulnerable to strikes from anti-tank missile systems and grenade launchers."

The SSO frequently shares footage of its forces destroying Russian equipment. One example includes a video released in November that purportedly shows a Russian command vehicle being obliterated by a U.S.-supplied HIMARS.

In that video posted on Telegram by the SSO, an armored vehicle is seen from overhead before it suddenly explodes into flames and smoke.

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