Cordesman/Wilner, Iran & The Gulf Military Balance Rev 3
AHC 2/29/12
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310 self-propelled artillery weapons, but it has a very large array of over 2,000 towed artillery weapons, , more than 870 multiple rocket launchers. It has developed its own rockets, some of which have modern cluster warhead and some of which are reported to have at some form of guidance system. This is a large inventory of major weapons, although many are worn and obsolete and date back to the time or the Shah or the Iran-Iraq War. The Army also has about 1,700 air-defense guns and large numbers of light anti-aircraft (AA) missiles, large numbers of anti-tank weapons and guided missiles, and some 50 attack helicopters. It manufactures modern variants of Russian anti-tank guided weapons – including the AT-3 and possibly AT-4, and can manufacture tank and artillery ammunition, artillery weapons, and modern RPGs. It also makes an “improved” copy of the TOW missile, which it says it has reverse engineered from the missiles it received from the United States. This missile is said to exist in both a Toophan and a Toophan 2 version. Iran has large numbers of SA-7 (Strela 2M) and SA-14 (Strela) man-portable surface-to-air missiles, some more modern SA-16s and HN-5/HQ-5s, as well as Misaq man-portable surfaceto-air missiles. It may also have up to 500 SA-18s, which are advanced man-portable surface-toair missiles.15 Iran has some 50 Swedish RBS-70 low-level surface-to-air missiles. Iran seems to be producing some version of the SA-7, perhaps with Chinese assistance. It is not clear whether Iran can do this in any large number. Iran’s land-based air-defense forces are also acquiring growing numbers of Chinese FM-80s, a Chinese variant of the French-designed Crotale. Some reports indicate that it has some SA-8s, but these may be token transfers obtained for reverseengineering purposes. The Iranian Army seems to retain 50 AH-1J Sea Cobra attack helicopters, 20 CH-47Cs, 50 Bell214A/Cs, 68 AB-205As, 10 AB-206s, and 25 Mi-8/Mi-17 transport and utility helicopters. There are also reports that Iran signed orders for 4 Mi-17s in 1999 and 30 Mi-8s in 2001. Army aviation bases are located in Bakhtaran, Ghale Morghi, Isfahan, Kerman, Mashad, Tehran, and Masjed Soleiman.16 These Western-supplied transport and support helicopters have low operational readiness, and they have little sustained sortie capability. Iran’s Ability to Defend Its Teritory and Project Land Power Iran’s land force posture still reflects a deep fear of US-led invasion that reached a height in years after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. The Iranian Army is now trained and organized for defense in depth, and to fight in the face of an enemy with air superiority. As long as the Army is loyal to the regime, it represent a serious force and one that make talk of an invasion of Iran far easier than any real world effort to carry out such a threat. Iran has large enough ground forces to make any US invasion of Iran problematic at best. Iran also can project power across its borders if it does not face a major air threat or cohesive resistance from the country involved. It is highly dependent on towed firepower, however, and it is not equipped to maneuver long distances outside of Iran or to sustain intensive operations outside the country. At the same time, Iran does have large elements of its conventional forces that it can use to supplement the forces it is developing for asymmetric warfare. Moreover, Iraq 15
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/iran/missile/mushak.htm.
16
Jane’s World Armies, Iran, October 26, 2006.
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