This review by Defense Express will show how much equipment and weapons Iran has at its disposal. The answer to this question can clearly show us why Iran has the status of a powerful military power in the Middle East. It would also provide insight into why the Iranians are betting on asymmetric tools of confrontation, including the use of proxy groups and/or the bet on kamikaze drones as a tool for power projection and long-range strikes.
In addition, brief summary data on Iran's weapons arsenal may be relevant not only in the context of the escalation of a new conflict in the Middle East, but also in the context of the full-scale war of the russian federation against Ukraine and the corresponding requests of the Kremlin for external assistance with weapons.
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Tanks and armored vehicles
According to The Military Balance 2023, Iran has approximately 1,500 tanks at its disposal, in particular:
- 480 T-72S, produced directly at the facilities of the Iranian defense industry;
- 540 T-54/55, Chinese Type 59 or Safir-74 (Iranian modernization of T-54);
- 50 American-made M60A1 tanks;
- 75 T-62 tanks;
- 100 British Chieftain tanks;
- 168 M47/48 tanks.
Also at the disposal of the Iranian armed forces are approximately 80 British Scorpion light tanks, approximately 200 BMP-1 and 400 BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, 300 BTR-50/60, 200 M113 armored personnel carriers as well as approximately 140 Boragh combat vehicles (local armored vehicle on the Soviet BMP-1 IFV chassis).
Artillery and rocket and missile systems
Iran can boast of having approximately 7,000 artillery systems of various types.
In particular, there are almost 300 self-propelled howitzers, but more than 60 of them are 2S1 Gvozdika and its local copy Raad-1; more than 150 M109 self-propelled howitzers and its local copy Raad-2. In addition, Iran has 30 North Korean 170 mm M-1978 Koksan self-propelled guns, 22 175 mm M107 self-propelled guns and 30 US-made 203 mm M110 self-propelled howitzers.
Also, Iran has more than 2,000 units of towed artillery systems, including:
- 540 D-30 howitzers;
- 100 Type 54 howitzers (a Chinese copy of the Soviet M-30 howitzer of WWII times;
- almost 1,000 130 mm M-46 towed field guns;
- only 30 152-mm D-20 gun-howitzers;
- more than 200 155-mm artillery systems (120 GHN-45, 70 M114 and 15 Chinese-made WAC-021 towed gun);
- 150 105-mm howitzers.
The situation is even more interesting with regard to multiple-launch rocket systems: out of almost 1,500 units, the lion's share of 1,300 units is made up of Chinese-made Type 63 towed 107-mm installations and their local copy HASEB Fadjr 1; there are also 100 BM-21 Grad MLRSs. In addition, Iran has 3,000 mortars of various types and calibers.
Regarding operational-tactical rocket/missile systems, the picture looks even more specific: it is claimed that the armed forces of Iran seem to have at their disposal a certain number of Chinese YJ-18 cruise missiles; an unspecified number of Shahin-1/Shahin-2 missile systems (with a range of 13 and 20 km, respectively), Nazeat long-range artillery rockets (with a range of up to 100 km), and Oghab systems (with a range of up to 45 kilometers).
Defense Express previously reported on the state of Iran's tactical aviation.
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