Toophan
| Toophan | |
|---|---|
 Different Toophan versions excluding Qa'em. |
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| Type | Anti-tank missile |
| Place of origin |  Iran |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Iran Hezbollah |
| Wars | 2006 Lebanon War |
| Specifications | |
| Diameter | 0.152 m |
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| Warhead weight | 3.6 kg |
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| Wingspan | 0.46 m |
| Operational range |
3,850 m |
| Guidance system |
Wire-guided, laser guidance for later versions |
Toophan (Persian: موشک طوفان, means "Typhoon" in Persian) is a series of Iranian anti-tank missiles.Toophan 1 is a reverse-engineered copy of the US military TOW missile. The Toophan-1's payload is a 3.6 kg high-explosive anti-tank warhead that can penetrate up to 550mm of steel armor. The range is 3,850m, the top speed 310 m/s. The manufacturer is the Aerospace Industries Organization of Iran, which has produced the missile since 2000.[1] Several other variants are also built with more penetration power.
Contents |
[edit] Operational history
Iran was among the earliest country to import the TOW missile as far back as 1971. Extensive repair and assembly facilities were set up at the Iran Electronics Industries (IEI) by the Texas-based Emerson Energy Systems as well as Hughes Missile Systems to repair TOW and FGM-77A Dragon missile.
In May 1975 negotiations between Iran and Hughes Missile Systems on co-production of the TOW and Maverick missiles stalled over disagreements in the pricing structure. Hughes set the royalty and initial investment costs for Iran at $20 million for the TOW and $25 million for the Maverick. The subsequent 1979 revolution ended all plans for such co-production.
Hezbollah has reportedly used Toophan missiles against Israeli Merkava tanks in the 2006 Lebanon War.[2]
[edit] Variants
[edit] Toofan 1
Basic version. Has a penetration of 550 mm RHA, a length of 116 cm and a weight of 18.5 kg.[3] It's range is described being 3.5 km.
[edit] Toofan 2
An upgraded variant using a much more powerful tandem warhead that can penetrate 760 mm of armor after disabling ERA by its small 40 mm frontal warhead. Missile weight has been increased to 19.1 kg and length to 145 cm.[4] As with Toofan 1 it has a range of 3.5 km.
[edit] Toofan 2B
A further upgraded one with a heavier warhead and penetration of 900 mm RHA[5][6]
[edit] Toofan 5
Another variant with laser guidance and additional four small fins in front of the missile. The missile is described having two warheads. Possibly still with a penetration of 900 mm.[7][8][9]
[edit] Qa'em
Unveiled alongside Toofan 5, Qa'em is essentially a Toofan variant for use against Helicopters. It is said to have a laser guidance resistant to enemy jamming.[10][11]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Missile Chronology. Retrieved on August 14, 2011.
- ^ Kommersant. Retrieved on December 10, 2007.
- ^ http://www.modlex.ir/cgi-bin/store.pl/page=product.html/pid=MXF05-000100
- ^ http://www.modlex.ir/cgi-bin/store.pl/page=product.html/pid=MXF05-000110
- ^ www.iranmilitaryforum.net/wiki/index.php?title=Toofan_ATGM
- ^ www.military.ir
- ^ http://english.iribnews.ir/NewsBody.aspx?ID=6507
- ^ http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/118011.html
- ^ www.iranmilitaryforum.net/wiki/index.php?title=Toofan_ATGM
- ^ http://english.iribnews.ir/NewsBody.aspx?ID=6507
- ^ http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/118011.html
[edit] External links
- Jane's Defence Weekly, Another ATGW for Iran
- Army Reconn article on Iranian copies of DRAGON and TOW
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