Iran

Iran army unveils new defense achievements

359369_Iran Army

The Iranian Army unveils its latest homemade machine gun as the West continues more than three decades of arms embargos against the Islamic Republic. The six-barrel 12.7mm Gatling-type machine gun dubbed Moharram has a firing rate of 2,000-2,500 rounds per minute and can be mounted on air, sea and ground vehicles. Moharram is one out of five new weapons and defense equipment unveiled by the research and self sufficiency Jihad Organization of the Iranian army.
The other new product is a smart composite armor made of Shear Thickening Fluid or (STF). The liquid substance can resist steel core anti-armor bullets and has been developed according to international standards. The Iranian Army also unveiled a home-made battle tank dubbed Sabalan; a modified version of former Iran made Zolfaqar and Samsam battle tanks. According to its builders the tank’s 105mm smoothbore gun uses state-of-the-art fire control system and sophisticated communications apparatus. A 155mm Howitzer dubbed Hoveyzeh and a super heavy five axle vehicle named Zoljanah were two other military pieces that were showcased at the ceremony. Since its 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran has faced repeated military threats by the US and Israel. The Islamic Republic is facing an arms embargo for more than 3 decades and currently has one of the smallest annual military budgets in the region with just less than 6.5 billion dollars. Iran felt the need to create an indigenous defense technology during the 1980 to 1988 Iraq-Iran war when Iranian troops were faced with Saddam Hussein’s war machine that was mobilized by the West and the Soviet Union with the support of countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

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