Latest generation of Iranian-made main battle tank Zulfiqar with new reactive armor

Zulfiqar (Zolfaqar) main battle tank

June 4, 2013 armyrecognition.com

The Iranian Army has equipped its tanks and armored vehicles with a smart system to divert incoming enemy missiles, an army commander said on Tuesday, June 4, 2013. Lieutenant Commander of the Army Ground Force General Kiomars Heidari told FNA that the new generation of home-made Zolfaqar tanks has been designed and manufactured.

As regards the features of the new tank, Heidari said, "Reactive body is one of the specifications of Zolfaqar tanks."

He explained that reactive body is part of the tank's body which is smart and is capable of defusing the impact of incoming enemy missiles.

"The system will be mounted on all armored vehicles of the Army Ground Force," Heidari announced.

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.

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

In February, Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said that Iran's newly unveiled optimized home-made tank has higher capabilities compared with Russian T-72 main battle tanks.

"Today, Zolfaqar has outpaced T-72 tanks in some specifications after it was optimized in various aspects," Pourdastan said in a ceremony to unveil two optimized versions of home-made tanks at the time.