Upgraded Zolfaqar Tanks under Field Tests

A senior Iranian Army commander announced here on Monday that Iran plans to unveil the upgraded version of Zolfaqar battle tanks in the near future.

“The upgraded version of Zolfaqar tanks are currently passing field tests and have, thus far, been successful (in these tests) in general, and they will be unveiled in the near future,” Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan told FNA on Monday.

Commenting on the details of the tank’s upgrading process, Pourdastan stated, “Zolfaqar had problems in some parts of its fire control system, and these problems have been resolved in the upgraded version.”

In addition to updating the fire control system, laser systems have also been mounted on the tank in the new version, he added.

Pourdastan further stated that the new systems have promoted the operational capabilities of the tank.

Zolfaqar is a second generation of Iran’s main battle tank (MBT). The test prototypes of the tank were evaluated in 1993. Six semi-industrial prototypes of the tank were produced and tested in 1997.

The tank has a distinctive box-shaped, steel-welded turret of local design. Zolfaqar combat weight is reported to be 36 tons and has a 780 hp diesel engine; the tank has a 21.7 hp per ton ratio.

The Zolfaqar is operated by a crew of three personnel. The automatic loader is believed to be the same one from the T-72 tank.

The tank is armed with a 125 mm smoothbore gun 2A46, which is fitted with a fume extractor. Its secondary armament consists of a 7.62 mm coaxial and a 12.7 mm machine gun. For the Zolfaqar fleet, the Ammunition Group of the Iranian Defense Industries Organization mass produces a standard high explosive 23 kilograms (51 lb) propellant charge which fires the 3 kg warhead at a muzzle velocity of 850 meters per second (2,800 ft/s).

The Zolfaqar-1 uses a fire control system which enjoys a ‘fire-on-the-move’ technology. The Zolfaqar mounts a laser-warning pod on the turret. Its design enables the tank to use an Iranian-made package of reactive armor.

Zolfaqar-2 is a prototype tank used as a test bed. The Zolfaqar-3 also features considerable upgrades to the fire control system, chassis, engine and main gun, with a 125mm autoloader. The Zolfaqar-3 is believed to be available for export by 2010.