Iran To Mass Produce Home-made Main Battle Tank 'Karrar'

Iran has unveiled its new home-made main battle tank, ‘Karrar’ and has announced plans to mass-produce it.

“The tank can compete with the most advanced tanks in the world in the three main areas of power, precision and mobility, as well as maintenance and durability in the battleground,” Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan was quoted as saying by FARS news Sunday.

Dehqan said the Karrar has advanced features like an electro-optical fire control system, a laser rangefinder, and a ballistic computer. It can also fire guided missiles. The MBT is an upgraded version of T-72S Shilden tank with some features similar to the Russian T-90MS.

“Karrar tanks have been delivered to the combat units of the Ground Force,” Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Ground Force Brigadier General Kioumars Heidari told reporters In August 2016.

He also underlined plans to mount new, advanced and state-of-the-art systems on Karrar and Zulfiqar tanks.

The Karrar main battle tank is fitted with new explosive reactive armor (ERA) at the hull front, the hull sides and supposedly at the turret. The rear is protected by slat armor, while side skirts made of rubber with a wave-shaped pattern are installed at the hull sides below the ERA. The tank is also fitted with a new remote weapon station (RWS).

The main armament of the Karrar could be a 125 mm smoothbore gun. A remote weapon station is mounted on the top of the turret which can be armed with a 12.7 mm or 14.5mm heavy machine gun.