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Aqareb 8x8

2015 MODERN

Aqareb 8x8 Story

In April 2015, the Iranian Army launched the new eight-wheeled armoured combat vehicle (AFV) Aqareb through an in-house design and development program to continue its own development as a military power. The type has modern design lines that rival Soviet/Russian and European wheeled vehicles with the same battlefield capabilities. Notable in the design is the primary armament, which consists of a 90mm armored anti-personnel gun mounted in a 350-degree swivel motorized turret located on the front of the top of the fuselage. The crew is located in the front and center of the vehicle, with the rear reserved for the power pack.

Four large road wheels are located on each side of the fuselage, providing good ground clearance and off-road capability.

The Iranian Army classifies the vehicle as a fire support system with inherent battlefield reconnaissance capabilities.

In all respects, Aqareb is nothing more than the Iranian Army version of the famous Soviet-era BT-60 series, the BTR-60PB model, which succeeded the 1965 BTR-60PAI model. The PB product adds an improved aiming system to its machine gun weapons. Its primary weapons are 1 x 14.5mm heavy KPVT machine gun and 1 x 7.62mm PKT coaxial machine gun. In addition to a crew of 3, the PB can accommodate up to 14 combat-ready infantry.

Introduced in 1966, the PB was not replaced by the more modern BTR-70 series until 1976.

In 1966 the Iranian government procured approximately 300 BTR-60P models to join a fleet of 270 BTR-50 series vehicles. The BTR-60PB model was ordered in 1986 and delivery was in a few months, only a few years.

Iran used the BTR-60 extensively in its long war with neighboring Iraq (the "Iraq War" of 1980-1988). When in service with Iran, the vehicles were designated "Sedad" and were armed with a 23mm ZU-23-2 gun capable of all-day and night operations - the gun could be fired from the safety of the vehicle.

Compared to the BTR-60PB which uses a three-crew crew, the Aqareb is said to be standard on a four-man crew. Front wings and nose sections were partially redesigned to provide better forward ballistic protection and improved water intakes, while new turret installations were designed to accommodate larger caliber main gun supplies. Interestingly, a cylindrical protrusion was added to the rear of the turret to accommodate a 12.7mm heavy machine gun - a weapon that provides local defense against low-flying targets and lightly armored vehicles. A 7.62mm coaxial machine gun is also likely to be mounted on the turret. Another interesting design quality is the pronounced armor skirt mounted on top of the wheels - something that is not common on foreign IFVs.

The hull structure is all-welded steel, standard in the armored vehicle industry today (2015), protecting the vehicle from small arms fire and grenade "spray".