Iran Unveils Their Own Home-Made Tank

The Tiam tank unveiled on 13 April along with the Bahman seen in background. Source: IRNA

IHS Jane's 360: Iran unveils Tiam tank

The Iranian Ground Forces revealed new vehicles on 13 April including the Tiam tank, which appears to be a fusion of US and Chinese tanks.

The Tiam's hull is that of a M47M, a variant of the US M47 that uses the engine from the M60A1 tank. The M47M was produced in Iran from the early 1970s and Iran unveiled a modified version called the Sabalan in April 2014. The Sabalan was armed with what looked like a 105 mm L7-type rifled gun instead of the original 90 mm.

The Tiam also has a 105 mm, but it is mounted in what appears to be the turret from a Chinese Type 59/69 tank. Although based on the T-55, some versions of the Type 59 and Type 69 were armed with an L7-type 105 mm gun instead of the 100 mm fitted to the Soviet tank.

The superstructure of the M47M hull appears to have been raised to accommodate the larger turret basket of the Type 59.

Also unveiled were a self-propelled 57 mm air defence system called the Bahman and a nuclear, biological, and chemical detection (NBC) vehicle called the Shahram.

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WNU Editor: It does not look like much .... but I suspect that it is cheap to produce, effective, and it suits the needs of the Iranian miltary.

A Fair Evaluation Of The Iranian Military?

Military parade in Iran

Experts: Iranian Military Stuck In The Past -- YNet News

Iran may be technologically advanced but its military capabilities are so limited it can't risk war on its own soil, Israeli experts claim.

If war breaks out with Iran, the Islamic Republic would prefer fighting on foreign soil due to its outdated equipment, claim Israeli experts who believe Iran's nuclear program is a cover for its limited military capabilities.

"Their most advanced aircraft is still the phantom, which we used in the Yom Kippur War 40 years ago," says Dr. Soli Shahvar of the Haifa University.

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My Comment: There are a lot of assumptions in this report. While it may be true that Iran's air force is out of date and other parts of its military are operating on a strategy that is based on asymmetric warfare .... it would still use missiles and fight on it's soil if need be.

How Iran Gets Spare Parts For Its Military

An Iranian F-5 fighter jet lands in Chabahar city. Photo CNN

Arms Dealer Allegedly Conspires To Sell Military Parts To Iran -- CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A man dubbed "the Field Marshal" by one advocacy group for alleged third-world arms dealing has been arrested on charges that he conspired to illegally export U.S. F-5 fighter jet engines and parts to Iran.

Jacques Monsieur, 56, a Belgium native who currently lives in France, was arrested Friday in New York, officials said. An indictment also charges Dara Fotouhi, 54, an Iranian living in France, with participating in the alleged crime. Fotouhi remains at large, official said.

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More News On Shipping Military Parts To Iran

Belgian to plead innocent to breaking Iran embargo -- AP
Note to Gunrunners: Don’t Use Gmail -- The Danger Room
Man Indicted in Plot to Ship Jet Parts to Iran -- Washington Post
Belgian arrested in plot to buy jet parts for Iran -- Reuters
Belgian arms dealer arrested in New York after trying to purchase fighter jet engines for Iran. -- Examiner
US nets Belgian accused of planing arms sale to Iran -- AFP

My Comment: The F-5 is an out of date aircraft. I am surprised that the Iranians are still looking for spare parts. This telss me that the embargo is working, and that the Iranians must be "desperate" to use such middle men to get these spare parts.

Is Iran Home To 'Most Competent' Military In The Middle East?

Lieutenant General Reza Mohammad-Soleimani

Iran Home To 'Most Competent' Military In Mideast -- Press TV

A senior Iranian military official says the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has turned into the "most competent military power" in the Middle East.

Lieutenant General Reza Mohammad-Soleimani said that IRGC is fully capable of defending the Islamic Revolution against "any kind of threats".

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My Comment: Is Iran the "Most Competent" military in the Middle East? When I first read this I laughed .... the U.S., Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia .... all of these countries have weapon systems and personnel that will outclass anything that Iran can throw at them.

But when I thought about it later on ..... I realized that this Iranian General is probably looking at the situation from a point of view that we do not. His reliance is on asymmetrical warfare, terrorism, suicide bombers, IEDs, assassinations and targeted killings. Using small cells and small groups of men to attack the enemy, as well as using Hezbollah (and other allies) in Europe and Latin America to attack our interests abroad .... and maybe even at home.

If Iran is successful in their nuclear program as well as enhancing their missile program .... his boasts will even add more credence.

On the one hand this Iranian General's remarkes are rediculous .... Iran is a broke and improvished nation that is deeply divided politically as well as by ethnicty and religion. But even with this turmoil, every major power in the world .... the U.S. included .... is obsessed with what Iran is doing and what it is not. The mega billions that is spent on the military by the U.S., Israel, the Arab states, and by our NATO and Asian allies .... in response to the few bucks that Iran spends .... is both comical and depressing.

So is the Iranian military "the most competent" in the Middle East .... on a dollar to dollar comparison .... this Iranian General is (definitely) right.