Game Changer for Yemen? Saudi Military Receives Lethal Russian TOS-1A Rocket Artillery System

Saudi Arabia’s armed forces have reputedly received their first TOS-1A Solntsepek rocket artillery systems from Russia, following an order placed in October 2017 during King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud’s visit to Moscow. The visit marked the first time in history that a reigning Saudi monarch had paid an official visit to the Russian capital, and marked the beginning of greater economic and defence cooperation between the former Cold War adversaries. Saudi Arabia has since been negotiating a contract to acquire the S-400 surface to air missile system, and placed orders for the TOS-1A as well as Kornet-EM anti tank missiles and AGS-30 grenade launchers. The potential for expanded defence ties remains considerable, particularly in light of growing calls among Riyadh’s longstanding Western allies to block arms sales to the country - a course of action many states such as Germany have already embarked on.

Russia's TOS-1A multiple rocket launcher has proven itself in combat on several occasions - including in combat against jihadist insurgents in Syria and Iraq. The weapons system retains basic bunker busting capabilities and is ideal for engaging light armour, fortifications, secured caves, rural strongholds, urban areas, and other fortified and enclosed positions. While the TOS-1A has access to a number of munition types such as fuel-air explosives, it is particularly renowned for its 220mm rockets with thermobaric rounds. Just one explosion from these rockets can destroy several city blocks, and a single round weighing approximately 3.2 kg can obliterate everything within an eighty cubic meter area. A single salvo fired by a battery of five TOS-1A platforms can destroy all targets in an area of 40,000 square meters (10 acres).

Thermobaric rounds fired by the TOS-1A disperse a gaseous cloud of chemicals into the air which are then detonated by a vacuum explosive to release a high pressure shock wave. This sucks air out of confined areas with tremendous force - destroying buildings, caves, trenches and other fortifications and rupturing the lungs of all victims in the vicinity. In Saudi hands, these are set to considerably increase the efficacy of its ground forces in a complementary role to its large division of M1 Abrams battle tanks. The TOS-1A could well be an ideal weapon for engaging Yemeni Ansurullah coalition forces - the assets of which are well dug into the country’s mountains and well positioned to weather attacks from conventional explosives deployed by Saudi aircraft. Thermobaric rocket equipped TOS-1A systems could well be the game changing weapons system Saudi forces need to turn the tide in Yemen, and should Riyadh perceive the Russian platform to have succeeded where its Western manufactured ordinance failed it could be key to facilitating closer defence ties well into the future.