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Encyclopedia > Zulfiqar MBT

Zulfiqar 1 in action Image File history File linksMetadata Beautifulzulfiqar1gc8. ...

Zulfiqar MBT
General characteristics
Crew 3-4
Length
Width
Height
Weight 40 tonnes (Zulfiqar 1)
Armour and armament
Armour
Main armament 125mm smoothbore
Secondary armament 12.7mm machine gun
Mobility
Power plant 12-cyl. diesel
780 hp (630 kW)(Zulfiqar 1)
Suspension torsion-bar
Road speed 70 km/h
Power/weight 20 hp/ton
Range

Born as the brainchild of brigadier general Mir-Younes Masoumzadeh, deputy ground force commander for research and self-sufficiency jihad of the armed forces, the Iranian Zulfiqar [Zolfaqar] main battle tank is believed to be pieced together or developed from major components of the Russian T-72 and American M48 and M60 tanks. This tank, which is claimed to be in production in Iran, is said to be similar in configuration to the M-48 and M-60. Other reports suggest that it bears a close resemblance to the American M1 Abrams.Icelandic intelligence , currently based in Iraq , have issued reports reading that there may be technologies implemented from M1A2 remains from Iraq. One of the features of the Zulfiqar tank which has drawn the attention of the Defense Ministry is that indigenously-made parts have been used in it. The testing prototypes of the tank were tested in 1993. Six semi-industrial prototypes of the tank were produced and tested in 1997. Military vehicles are commonly armoured to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets or shells, protecting the soldiers inside from enemy fire. ... The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1971. ... The M1 Abrams main battle tank is the principal combat tank of the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps, with three main versions being deployed starting in 1980: the M1, M1A1, and M1A2. ...

Zulfiqar 1
Zulfiqar 1
Zulfiqar 2
Zulfiqar 2
Zulfiqar 3
Zulfiqar 3

In April 1997 Acting Commander of the Ground Forces of the Iranian Army, Lieutenant General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani announced that the mass production of Zulfiqar tanks, which began in 1996, was still in progress. He stated that the manufacture of 520 different kinds of tank parts, 600 artillery parts, repair of 500 tanks and armored vehicles have been carried out. In late July 1997 Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani of Iran formally inaugurated a production line for the domestically manufactured Zulfiqar main battle tanks and Boragh tracked armoured personnel carriers. The facility, the Shahid Kolah Dooz Industrial Complex, will also produce the BMT-2 armored personnel carrier. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (876x740, 55 KB) Zulfiqar 1 This is a screenshot of copyrighted computer software, and the copyright for it is most likely held by the author(s) or the company that created the software. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (876x740, 55 KB) Zulfiqar 1 This is a screenshot of copyrighted computer software, and the copyright for it is most likely held by the author(s) or the company that created the software. ... Image File history File links Zulfiqar_2. ... Image File history File links Zulfiqar_2. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (787x715, 76 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Zulfiqar MBT ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (787x715, 76 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Zulfiqar MBT ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...


The Iranian tank is armed with a 125mm smoothbore gun fitted with a fume extractor which may be fed from an automatic loader. It is known that the Zulfiqar uses suspension like that fitted to Western MBTs such as the M48/M60 MBT. The diesel engine is not taken from the T-72 since this has a distinct exhaust outlet on the left side of the hull. This feature is absent on the Zulfiqar. The most advanced of these, the Zulfiqar-3, is based on earlier American tanks, primarily the M-60 acquired under the pre-revolution era. The Zulfiqar-3 also features considerable upgrades to the fire control system, chassis, engine and main gun (125mm autoloader). The Zulfiqar-1 is reportedly in service with certain elements of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (Pasdaran) and the Zulfiqar-2 is reportedly a test bed for future designs and upgrades. The Zulfiqar-3 is believed to have recently entered serial production. The M46, M47, M48 and M60 Patton were the U.S armys principal main battle tanks of the Cold War, with models in service from the late 1940s to the 1990s. ...


The Zulfiqar has a distinctive box-shaped turret unlike the characteristic boat-shaped turret of the T-72 and appears to have a different exhaust system. The Zulfiqar is a 40 tonne vehicle with a 1,000 hp diesel engine and a 125 mm smooth bore gun. For the Zulfigar/T-72 fleet, the Ammunition Group of the Iranian Defense Industries Organization mass produces both a standard High Explosive 23 kilogram tank shell firing a three kilogram warhead out the muzzle at 850 meters per second. The Defense Industries Organization (DIO), (Iranian name: Sasadjah (Sazemane Sanaye Defa)), is a conglomerate of state run Iranian companies whose function is to provide Iran with the necessary military manufacturing capacity and technical abilities. ...


Operators

Image File history File links Flag_of_Iran. ...

See also

Irans military industry has taken great strides in the past 25 years, and now manufactures many types of sophisticated arms and equipment. ... Introduction From 1925 to the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Iran used to be equipped with the very latest Western hardware. ... Despite earlier roots, Iran started its missile development program in earnest during its long and costly war with Iraq. ...

Sources

  • http://www.republic-news.org/archive/97-repub/97_kay.htm


Military of the Islamic Republic of Iran The Islamic Republic of Iran
Iranian Army | Iranian Navy | Iranian Air Force | IRGC
Modern tanks
Flag of Italy Ariete | Flag of India Arjun | Flag of United Kingdom Challenger 2 | Flag of North Korea Ch'onma-ho | K1 | Flag of France Leclerc | Flag of Germany Leopard 2 | Flag of United States M1 Abrams | / MBT 2000

Flag of Yugoslavia M-84 | Merkava | PT-91 Twardy | Flag of Soviet Union T-80 | Flag of Ukraine T-84 | T-90 | Type 90 | Type 96 | Type 99 | Flag of Iran Zulfigar


 

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