Karrar (Striker)

Karal's story (forward)

The Karrar is the most advanced main battle tank (MBT) designed and developed by Iran. It is said to be entirely indigenous, while borrowing the framework of earlier Soviet/Russian tanks such as the T-72 and T-90 (T-90MS).

In addition to these vehicles, Caral was inspired by other foreign designs, including the American Cold War-era M48 and M60 tanks, and the British Cold War-era Chieftain main battle tank. The Iranian 51-ton system is scheduled to go into mass production in 2017.

The tank was first spotted in August 2016.

The appearance of Karrar is Irans response to the T-90MS tank contract with Russia.

The Karrar's primary weapon is a 125mm smoothbore main gun fed by an autoloader. The autoloader reduced the crew by one and was common on later Soviet-Russian MBTs (this feature was not adopted in Western tank designs).

Like previous Russian tanks, the Kalar's main gun supports the firing of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) (another quality not usually found in Western tanks).

The Soviet-Russian influence in the Karrar silhouette is evident as it achieves a very low profile. The engine is located in the forward part of the fuselage, and the commander and gunner are in a disc-shaped motorized turret assembly above the center.

The turret houses the main armament and a coaxial 7.62mm machine gun. Behind the commander's hatch is a Remote Weapons Station (RWS) capable of deploying a 12.7mm machine gun. The access port for the loader is located on the left side of the top of the turret. Smoke grenade launchers were placed on either side of the top of the turret, with six grenades in a row on each side. Additional sensors and sights are mounted on the front of the turret.

Explosive reactive armor (ERA) blocks can be seen along the main part of the tank, especially on the glacis plates. Side skirt armor is used to protect important upper areas of the track and wheel assemblies. There appear to be six wheels on each side of the hull.

The

Karrar design incorporates features including a laser rangefinder for ranging accuracy, a stabilized main gun system for "moving fire" and day/night sights for tactical flexibility. It was found that both the driver and the gunner could drive the tank from their respective positions inside the vehicle.

Karrar offers the Iranian military and local defense industry a homegrown solution to meet long-term needs - reducing reliance on Russia and other export suppliers. Decades of operation and production of Soviet-Russian equipment helped the Iranians accomplish this feat (to a certain extent), although only time - and Karal's eventual presence on the modern battlefield - will mark the tank as a success or Failure will be considered.

July 2017 - Announced that the Iranian Army will receive the first Karrar tanks sometime in 2018.

September 2018 - The Iranian Army and IRGC plan to launch a total of 800 Karrar tracked combat vehicles - all locally built, marking a major step forward for the Iranian military-industrial complex.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

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Armor

12 x Smoke Grenade

Changes