Arash ( fa, آرش) is an Iranian 20mm semi-automatic anti-materiel

sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long-range rifle. Requirements include accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment and optics for anti-personnel, anti-materiel and surveillance uses of the military sniper. The modern sniper rifle is a por ...

. This weapon is used by

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

, and is named for the mythical Arash the Archer.

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IRGC-GF New Equipment Ceremony 2014 (41)

The Arash sniper rifle is a

semi-automatic weapon A semi-automatic firearm, also called a self-loading or autoloading firearm (fully automatic and selective fire firearms are also variations on self-loading firearms), is a repeating firearm whose action mechanism ''automatically'' loads a follow ...

with

rotating bolt Rotating bolt is a method of locking the breech (or rear barrel) of a firearm closed for firing. Johann Nicolaus von Dreyse developed the first rotating bolt firearm, the "Dreyse needle gun", in 1836. The Dreyse locked using the bolt handle r ...

and

gas operated reloading Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate locked breech, autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to dispose of the spent ...

. It has an eight riflings straight back from left to right. It is 180 cm-long weapon, and is equipped with optical cameras. It is typically used as a shoulder-fired weapon. The rifle weighs between 18 and 20 kilograms, and fires 20 mm ammunition. It is fired in a standing position with a forward bipod and the gun resting over the user's shoulder, similar to an RPG. The stock is positioned midway along the length of the weapon with the pistol grip just forward of it. It is arranged in a

bullpup A bullpup firearm is one with its firing grip located in front of the Chamber (firearms), breech of the weapon, instead of behind it. This creates a weapon with a shorter overall length for a given barrel length, and one that is often lighter, ...

configuration with the trigger assembly forward of the magazine, which is loaded behind the user's back, making reloading awkward. The recoil of firing a 20 mm round is mitigated by a huge cone-shaped quadruple baffle

muzzle brake A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to, or a feature integral to the construction of, the muzzle or barrel of a firearm or cannon that is intended to redirect a portion of propellant gases to counter recoil and unwanted ...

and the design of the gun which makes it pivot on the operator's shoulder. The scope appears to use a copy of the

Barrett Optical Ranging System The Barrett Optical Ranging System (BORS) is an integrated ballistics computer manufactured by Barrett Firearms that aids snipers and long-range marksmen in taking precise and accurate shots. The system mounts directly to the riflescope and coupl ...

(BORS), which calculates atmospheric conditions to determine the rifle's optimal position to take an accurate shot. The position of the scope is relatively high, making it difficult to fire the rifle in the prone position, so the Iranians operate it using two-man motorcycle teams to perform "

shoot and scoot Shoot-and-scoot (alternatively, fire-and-displace or fire-and-move) is an artillery tactic of firing at a target and then immediately moving away from the location from where the shots were fired to avoid counter-battery fire (e.g. from enemy ar ...

" tactics.Iran’s New Arash 20mm Shoulder Fired Anti-Material Rifle (With Barrett BORS Clone)
''The Firearm Blog''. 7 March 2013. The Arash can be used to target hostile helicopters at a range of approximately 2,000 meters, and has the ability to be used against ground and armored targets as well as enemy trenches.

Users

Liwa Assad Allah al-Ghalib fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham The Conquering Lion of God Forces of Iraq and the Levant ( ar, قوات اسد الله الغالب في العراق والشام, ''Quwwat Assad Allah al-Ghalib fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham''), more commonly known by its original name ( ar, لواء ...

References

Semi-automatic rifles 20mm sniper rifles Anti-materiel rifles Bullpup rifles Sniper rifles of Iran {{Rifle-stub

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See also

References