2024-09-06 08:34:13
Tehran: Iran has increased its military preparations amid growing hostility with America and Israel. Iran has recently upgraded its American-origin M-60 Patton tank. The new upgraded variant has been named Soleiman-402. There is a decades-old hostility between Iran and America. Diplomatic relations between the two countries are also negligible. In such a situation, the question arises as to how Iran got American military weapons. Iran operates not only American tanks but also American fighter planes. These weapons may be old, but their firepower is very high.
American weapons were purchased before the Iranian revolution
Iran had bought these weapons from America before the Iranian Revolution. At that time Iran was ruled by Shah Pahlavi. Shah Pahlavi was considered close to America. During that time America and Iran had a deep friendship, but the Iranian Revolution changed everything. Today Iran and America are each other’s staunch enemies. Iran has been facing US sanctions since 1979 and is struggling to upgrade and keep its Cold War-era weapons serviceable. However, Iran has demonstrated its capability by upgrading M-60 Patton tanks on a large scale to increase its military power.
What did the Iranian army say about the upgrade
The tank was unveiled at a ceremony held in Tehran on September 2 in the presence of Iranian Army Chief Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi and Iranian Army Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari. Pictures of this new tank have become a topic of discussion in Iran. According to Iran’s news agency IRNA, Iranian experts have carried out upgrading work on the M-60 tank for the army’s ground forces in Tehran. The Soleiman-402 tank is equipped with a machine gun, a coaxial machine gun and a powerful fire control system.
What upgrades were made to the M-60 tank
Iranian engineers have extensively overhauled the M-60 tank. It has been fitted with a new turret for the commander, reactive armour plates, infrared jamming, smoke grenades, back-front and side view cameras, fire alarm and suppression system. Apart from this, night vision cameras have been installed in the tank, which will help it to operate 24/7. According to Iranian reports, one feature of the tank that stands out is its ability to aim and hit a target while moving.