zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Beyond Cars
/
Iran's New Tank Makes Lofty Claims It Hasn't Backed Up
Iran's New Tank Makes Lofty Claims It Hasn't Backed Up-December 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:14:08

The Iranians unveiled theirKarrar tank Sunday, which they’ve claimed can compete with Russia’s T-90 in terms of lethality. Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said during the ceremony that the Karrar compete with any tank on the battlefield in terms of precision, mobility and power.Sure.

Widely regarded as the world’s top tank, the T-90 has a 125MM autoloading smooth bore cannon that can fire 9M119 “Refleks” anti-tank guided missiles that can hit targets on the ground and in the air, as reported previously.

But the Karrar going toe-to-toe with a T-90 is a big boast that that leaves more questions than answers because the Iranians aren’t exactlty known for being on the leading edge of military hardware. According to Dehqan, the Karrar was 100 percent built and manufactured in Iran, . The tank has is the electro-optical fire control system, laser rangefinder, ballistic computer and can fire at stable and mobile targets in day and night, according to FARS, much like top-of-the-line Western tanks like the American M1 Abrams and the German Leopard 2. Additionally, Dehqan says the tank can move under water and defend itself against electronic warfare.

We imagine the move-under-water situation is less “Yellow Submarine” and more like these Russian tanks, which use a great big snorkel:

The problem, of course, is that we really do not know a lot about the tank beyond the video clip below, but we can can make a few comparisons between the Karrar and the T-90, its supposed peer.

As for the Karrar’s main gun, the specs are not readily available. But the blog notes that the Karrar is very similar in appearance to the T-90. As for the differences between the guns, Below The Turret Ring agues that the Karrar’s gun may very well be a cheaper version of the smoothbore cannon in the Russian T-90MS. That would not make the Karrar the T-90's peer by any measure, because it is likely outfitted with the same gun, known as the 2A46M-2, that was used on the Soviet T-72S from the 1970s. For context, the T-90 entered service in 1993 and is outfitted with a considerably more accurate and durable main gun.

Another question about the Karrar is the claim that it can defend against electronic warfare. It’s not clear what that exactly means, but, theoretically, the electronic sensors on modern tanks could come under assault from jamming systems in an all-out war.

For all we know, the boasting from Iran’s defense officials could be a propaganda ploy to make the Karrar and their defense capabilities appear more intimidating than they actually are. Ironically, in December of 2015, Iran was to purchase Russian-developed T-90 tanks, but backed out a few months later to focus on a locally-produced tank, which is the Karrar we are talking about right now.

The Iranians have been developing their own hardware since 1979, when the Iranian Revolution took place. After that time, became its top arms seller.

As for the Karrar, even if it doesn’t measure up to the T-90, it is a step forward in Tehran’s military manufacturing industry. But until we get more access Karrar’s specs, comparisons to the battle-tested T-90 are likely nothing more than bluster.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Beyond Cars
Aircraft Touch Tips During Blizzard At Japanese Airport
Aircraft Touch Tips During Blizzard At Japanese Airport
As at , its port side wing the starboard vertical stabilizer of bound for Hong Kong. This comes at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, and . “Our aircraft, which was stationary at the time with no customers nor crew onboard, was struck by a Korean Air A330 which was taxiing past,”...
Dec 21, 2025
Deadliest Train In America Kills 3 People In 2 Separate Collisions At The Same Crossing
Deadliest Train In America Kills 3 People In 2 Separate Collisions At The Same Crossing
operate between Orlando and Miami and hold the unwelcome distinction of being both the first intra-city high speed rail in the U.S. and the , by far. After three people died at a single grade crossing in two separate incidents last week it seems the feds are finally perking...
Dec 21, 2025
2023 Zero DSR/X: The Bike Of The Future, But Not Our Future
2023 Zero DSR/X: The Bike Of The Future, But Not Our Future
The world, in 2023, is cyberpunk. We’ve got the , the , and the that keeps the and the . But in cyberpunk media, people are always riding . Why are we stuck with the same bikes we’ve always had? , it seems, wants to address this grievous wrong....
Dec 21, 2025
Crystal Chunks Are Bursting Through The Road In China
Crystal Chunks Are Bursting Through The Road In China
A video of what looks like quartz breaking through the surface of a is making the rounds on . I don’t get over there much, being suspicious of the Chinese over concerns of it spying on its users, as the reports. OK, fine. Actually, I just don’t get the humor...
Dec 21, 2025
Marshmallow Treats Ended Up On The Royal Air Force's No-Fly List
Marshmallow Treats Ended Up On The Royal Air Force's No-Fly List
Over in the United Kingdom, there’s a certain dessert known as a “teacake” — or, as a British friend kindly informed me, it’s more accurately known as a “Tunnock” in Scotland. Basically, the food in question for this particular story are actually a cookie base topped with marshmallow, coated...
Dec 21, 2025
String Of Boeing Failures Continues With 737-800 Flight Turning Back With Cracked Cockpit Windshield
String Of Boeing Failures Continues With 737-800 Flight Turning Back With Cracked Cockpit Windshield
In the wake of recent major , including , , and the debacle that was , it isn’t a good time for further failures by the company. that would , an unrelated 737-800 with a cracked windshield, became international news this weekend. The flight took off from Sapporo-New Chitose...
Dec 21, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved