The Type 72Z tank (also known as the T-72Z and the Safir-74, and the Al-Zubair I in Sudan) is a highly modernized version of the Type 59 and

T-54/T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the World War II, Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Mai ...

tanks, with upgrades carried out by the Iranian

Defense Industries Organization ''Sâzmân-e Sanâye'-e Defâ'-e Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran'' , type = State-owned company , location = , industry = Defense , predecessor = , foundation = , founder = , hq_location_city = Tehran , hq_location_country = Iran , num_lo ...

. The tank is not to be confused with an Iraqi modernization also known as ''T-72Z'', said to carry a 125 mm gun.

History

The Type 72Z was first announced by the

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...

in 1996. The upgrades to the Type 59 and T-54/T-55 tanks were carried out by the Vehicle Industries Group of the Defence Industries Organization, in order to extend the service life of tanks already in use with the

Iranian army The Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces ( fa, نیروی زمینی ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران, ''Niroo-ye Zamini-ye Artesh-e Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran''), acronymed NEZAJA ( fa, نزاجا, NEZEJA) are the ground forc ...

Upgrades

The 100mm gun of the T-55/Type 59 was replaced with an Iranian-produced derivative of the 105mm M68 gun, capable of firing

9M117 Bastion The 9M117 Bastion is a Russian laser beam-riding anti-tank missile. It is used in a number of separate weapon systems, including the 9K116-1 Bastion missile system (AT-10 Stabber), 9K118 Sheksna (AT-12 Swinger), T-12 antitank gun and the 3UBK12 ...

anti-tank guided missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...

s as well as NATO standard ammunition. The Slovenian Fotona Electronic Fire Control System (EFCS-3-55) was added, with automatic and manual

gun stabilizer A gun stabilizer is a device that facilitates aiming an artillery piece by compensating for the motion of the platform on which it is mounted. For naval applications see ship gun fire-control system. Moving land-based systems tend to require more s ...

s, a

laser rangefinder A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter, is a rangefinder that uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by sending a laser pulse in ...

, second-generation night sights, a ballistic computer, and an independent viewer and target designation system for the commander. Electric

smoke grenade discharger A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The mo ...

s were also added to provide concealment on top of the existing ability to create a

smoke screen A smoke screen is smoke released to mask the movement or location of military units such as infantry, tanks, aircraft, or ships. Smoke screens are commonly deployed either by a canister (such as a grenade) or generated by a vehicle (such as ...

by injecting diesel fuel into the left exhaust outlet.

Explosive reactive armor Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour that reacts in some way to the impact of a weapon to reduce the damage done to the vehicle being protected. It is most effective in protecting against shaped charges and specially hardened kinetic ene ...

(ERA) developed by the Shahid Kolah Dooz Industrial Complex can be fitted to the Type 72Z, providing protection against projectiles and napalm-type weapons. Side track skirts similar to those on the Type 59 were added to T-54/T-55 tanks upgraded with ERA. The engine was replaced with a Ukrainian 780 hp V46-6 diesel engine, together with the SPAT-1200 transmission system. Air conditioning, power steering and a fire suppression system are also believed to have been installed.

Variants

* Safir-74 - Iranian

tanks which have gone through similar upgrades. Safir means "messenger" in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. * Al-Zubair I - Sudanese variant of the Type 72Z manufactured by the

Military Industry Corporation The Military Industry Corporation is the state-run defense corporation of Sudan. It is responsible for the production of a wide range of defense equipment, such as munitions, firearms, artillery etc. History The MIC was established by national d ...

, with the engine upgraded with a

supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...

Operators

* **

Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Ground Forces ( fa, نیروی زمینی سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی), acronymed NEZSA ( fa, نزسا), are the land force which the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), maintain i ...

Galen Wright (15 March 2011) ''Iranian Military Capability 2011 - Ground Forces'' **

Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces The Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces ( fa, نیروی زمینی ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران, ''Niroo-ye Zamini-ye Artesh-e Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran''), acronymed NEZAJA ( fa, نزاجا, NEZEJA) are the ground forc ...

* : First purchased in 2006.

Non-state operators

Kata'ib Hezbollah Kata'ib Hezbollah ( ar, كتائب حزب الله, lit=Battalions of the Party of God)—or the Hezbollah Battalions—is a radical Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group which is part of the Popular Mobilization Forces backed by Iran. During the Ir ...

References