Zulfiqar (tank)

Zulfiqar
Zulfiqar 3.
TypeMain battle tank
Place of originIran
Service history
Used byIslamic Republic of Iran
Production history
DesignerResearch and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization of Islamic Republic of Iran Ground Force
Designed1993 – Zulfiqar-1 2012 – Zulfiqar-3
ManufacturerShahid Kolah Dooz Industrial Complex
Produced1996–present
No. built~400 Zulfiqar-1 in 2022 750 Zulfiqar-3
VariantsZulfiqar 1, Zulfiqar 2, Zulfiqar 3
Specifications (Zulfiqar 3)
Mass52 tonnes
Length9.20 m (30 ft 2 in)
Width3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)
Height2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
Crew3

Armorcomposite armour
Main
armament
2A46 125 mm gun
Secondary
armament
12.7 mm and 7.62 mm machine guns
Engine12-cyl. diesel
Zulfiqar 1: 780 hp (630 kW) Zulfiqar 3: AVDS-1790 1000 hp
Power/weight21.7 hp/ton (Zulfiqar 1),17.85 hp/ton (zulfiqar 3)
Transmission6-gear SPAT 1200 automatic transmission
Suspensiontorsion-bar
Operational
range
450 km (280 mi)
Maximum speed 70 km/h (43 mph)

Zulfiqar (ذوالفقار) is an Iranian main battle tank, conceived by Brigadier General Mir-Younes Masoumzadeh, deputy ground force commander for research and self-sufficiency of the armed forces. It is named after Zulfiqar, the legendary sword of Ali, the first imam. It's also known as Zolfaqar.

The test prototypes of the tank were evaluated in 1993. Six semi-industrial prototypes of the tank were produced and tested in 1997.