Anti-tank Iranian missile systems of the Tufan series
ATGM "Tufan" in combat position. Photo Fars News
Iran currently produces anti-tank missile systems of several types. The first in this line at the end of the eighties was the Toophan product. At that time, the Iranian industry did not have the necessary experience and developments, and the complex was copied from an available foreign sample. However, the further development of anti-tank systems was carried out independently and led to interesting results.
Armament and politics
In the late sixties, a new TOW ATGM with the BGM-71 missile was created in the USA. Production started for its own army, and the search for foreign customers began. One of the first foreign buyers of TOW already in 1971 was Iran, which then had good relations with Washington. The contracts provided for the supply of American anti-tank systems in a portable version, in a version for installation on ground platforms and in a helicopter modification.
Over the next few years, the United States supplied the Iranian army with ready-made complexes and missiles. In addition, with their assistance, a technical center was opened in Iran, which was engaged in the maintenance and repair of American anti-tank systems. Since the mid-seventies, negotiations have been going on to launch licensed production of TOW at Iranian enterprises.
However, the Islamic Revolution of 1978-79 led to a halt in Iranian-American cooperation in all areas. In particular, supplies of ready-made anti-tank systems ceased, and production under license became impossible. Now Iran could only rely on the accumulated stocks of complexes or on supplies from third countries.
Complex on a mobile platform. Photo Khamenei.ir
Soon the war with Iraq began, and the Iranian army quickly faced the problem of ammunition consumption and the loss of complexes, as well as the impossibility of fully replenishing arsenals. As it became known later, several hundred TOW ATGMs were obtained directly from the United States as part of the Iran-Contra scheme. However, this was not enough, and the problem of missile shortages persisted.
Unlicensed copy
Approximately in the mid-eighties, the Iranian leadership decided to independently produce the necessary anti-tank systems. The development of our own project in a reasonable time was not possible, and therefore it was proposed to copy the most advanced of the available foreign samples. At that time, it was the American BGM-71 TOW.
Copying the existing ATGM and its adaptation to existing production capabilities was entrusted to the Organization aviation industry and Iran Electronics Industries. The project was named "Tufan" ("Storm"). Its first results in the form of experimental missiles appeared already in 1985-86, however, these products needed to be improved. While the necessary work was going on, in early 1987, the first public demonstration of the new complex took place.
Shortly thereafter, the Iranian ATGM was tested both at the training ground and at the front. This time, he confirmed the design characteristics and was recommended for adoption and mass production. The series started no later than 1988, and at the same time, the finished Tufans got into combat units.
Rocket launch. Photo by Tasnim News
During the first years of the Tufan anti-tank systems, they were produced only in the original configuration. Various minor improvements could be present, but the characteristics and capabilities of the products remained at the same level. In the late nineties, the first project for the modernization of the complex was launched. The updated "Tufan-2" with improved combat characteristics of the missile was presented at the beginning of the next decade.
In the XNUMXs and XNUMXs, they developed, brought to the test and mass-produced a number of more options and modifications. Foreign sources have about a dozen versions of "Tufan" with certain features and differences. Some modifications were produced in a large series, while others, for various reasons, remained few or did not reach full-fledged production at all.
For army and export
The launch customer and main recipient of the Tufan ATGM of all modifications are the armed forces of Iran - the army itself and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Given their numbers and needs, we can talk about the production of thousands of complexes and tens or hundreds of thousands of missiles for them.
Tufan products of various modifications are still in service with Iran and are used in different configurations and on different media. Despite the emergence of newer and more advanced models, they retain their place in the army's weapons system and remain one of the main types of weapons in their class.
Rocket production. Photo Fars News
Having closed the needs of its armed forces in anti-tank systems, in the nineties, Iran began to export such weapons. First of all, the recipients of "Tufans" are various armed formations of the Middle East. Iranian anti-tank systems are actively used by the operators of Hezbollah, Ansar Allah and other organizations. During the active phase of the fight against terrorists in Syria and Iraq, the complexes often fell into the hands of the enemy.
It is curious that ATGMs, both for export and, probably, for their own army, have specific markings. They do not have the Iranian name Toophan, but the designations TOW, TOW-2b TOW-3, etc. are present. – depending on the modification.
Technical features
"Tufan" is a second-generation anti-tank missile system. Its first version was copied from the American TOW product, which determined the appearance and characteristics. In the future, the design of the complex and the rocket developed, ensuring the growth of certain parameters, but the general architecture and features did not fundamentally change.
All Tufan variants use a unified launcher. It has a place to install a transport and launch container with a missile and is equipped with a control unit. The TPK and the fire control device are placed on a turntable with the possibility of aiming in two planes. Depending on the need, such a launcher is used with a tripod or mounted on a car, armored vehicle or other platform.
In different modifications of the ATGM, several versions of the control device were used. All such devices have optics for searching for targets and guidance day and night. There is also electronics capable of monitoring the position of the target and the missile, as well as generating commands for the latter. Almost all missiles of the Tufan line are remotely controlled and receive commands via an unwinding pair of wires.
Missiles of various modifications (from left to right): "Tufan-1", "Tufan-2M" and "Tufan-5". Photo Mehr News
In 2010, a modification of the Tufan-5 ATGM with a laser guidance system was introduced. Due to the appropriate sensors in the tail section, this version of the rocket flies along the beam directed at the target. Later they showed the Tufan-6 missile with the same control system, but with different combat equipment.
Missiles for ATGM Toophan have a cylindrical body with a length of approx. 1,16 m diameter 152 mm. Some modifications that have received an improved warhead carry a telescopic nose target sensor, due to which the length of the rocket reaches 1,45 m. Two sets of X-shaped planes are provided on the body. A warhead is located under the head fairing of the rocket, a solid-propellant engine with side nozzles is placed in the center, and control devices are installed in the tail.
The first version of the Tufan missile carried a 3,6 kg HEAT warhead and could penetrate 650 mm of homogeneous armor. During the modernization of Tufan-2, a tandem cumulative warhead weighing 4,1 kg was introduced. Penetration remained at the same level, but it became possible to attack armored objects with dynamic protection. In the Tufan-3 project, a warhead appeared with the so-called. shock core, triggered when flying over the target. With a mass of 2,2 kg, such a warhead penetrates only 150 mm of armor, but this is enough to defeat tanks from the upper hemisphere. For "Tufan-5" they created an improved tandem warhead with a penetration of 900 mm.
Recent modernization projects provide for the expansion of the range of charges and the solution of additional tasks. Thus, a thermobaric charge weighing 6 kg was installed on the Tufan-5 rocket. The next Tufan-7 rocket used a 5,6-kg thermobaric warhead with striking elements.
Product "Tufan-3M". Photo by Tasnim News
Despite the development of instruments and warheads, the engine and flight characteristics of missiles remained practically unchanged. Thus, the maximum range for all Toophan missiles reaches only 3,75 km. In this case, a heavy thermobaric warhead leads to a decrease in range to 3,5 km.
Achieved goals
The main goal of the Tufan project was initially to master the production of modern foreign-designed anti-tank systems to cover the needs of the Iranian armed forces during the war. The Iranian industry, despite the lack of outside support, successfully coped with this task and launched the production of TOW products. However, this process took a lot of time, and the complexes were actually late for the Iran-Iraq war.
Another result of the Tufan project was the development of a number of important technologies. The Iranian industry learned how to assemble foreign anti-tank systems, and then proceeded to modernize it. In addition, the accumulated experience allowed us to start developing our own projects. To date, Iran has developed and brought to production several new anti-tank systems, both completely independently developed and made with an eye on foreign designs. The new Iranian complexes are superior in all respects to the copy of the American TOW.
Thus, ATGMs of the Tufan series occupy a special place in stories modern Iranian army. At one time, they made it possible to get rid of the shortage of anti-tank weapons, and then laid the foundation for the further development of a whole area. Due to obsolescence, Toophan and its variants have recently been taken out of service and are giving way to newer and more advanced models, although it is still far from a complete replacement.
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