The Iranian armed forces continue to operate more than two hundred BMP-1s. Some of this equipment was supplied by the Soviet Union back in the 70s, other samples were captured during the eight-year war with Saddam’s Iraq.
Thanks to skilled operation, these infantry fighting vehicles remain in combat-ready condition. At the same time, local sources have repeatedly noted that in terms of their tactical and technical characteristics, they are already rather outdated and need to be modernized for a long time.
For this, according to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, a new combat module has been created at a research institute in Isfahan, which is part of the Research and Self-Sufficiency Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
As military expert Yuri Lyamin notes, this novelty, which has not been shown anywhere before, is armed with a 30-mm automatic cannon, 7.62-mm and 12.7-mm machine guns, and a 30-mm grenade launcher.
At the next stage of work, it is planned to install anti-tank guided missiles on it.
“Apparently, the ammunition is completely isolated from the military personnel in the armored vehicle. However, the gunner’s workplace is located under the module itself and rotates with it,” Lyamin notes.
Previously, work was carried out to improve the capabilities of the BMP-2. In particular, clones of Kornet-E anti-tank guided missiles produced by the local industry began to be installed on them.
The BTR-50PK was also refined, which even outwardly began to differ greatly from the base sample.