Rakhsh (armoured personnel carrier)

The Rakhsh is a lightweight Iranian 4 × 4 cross-country armoured personnel carrier developed and produced by DIO's Shahid Kolah Dooz Industrial Complex and named after Rakhsh, the mythical horse of Rostam in Shahnama. It is probably based on a proven 4 × 4 cross-country chassis present in Iran before and is in service of Iranian Police, Iranian Army, IRGC and Sudan.[2]

Rakhsh
Late version of the Rakhsh APC, 2022
TypeArmoured personnel carrier
Place of originIran
Service history
Used bySee Operators
WarsSecond Sudanese Civil War
War in Darfur
Production history
ManufacturerDefense Industries Organization
Specifications
Mass6.5 tonnes. 7.5 tonnes fully loaded
Length6.06 m
Width2.40 m
Height2.43 m
Crew2 (+8 passengers)
ArmorWelded steel
Main
armament
12.7 mm DShK 1938/46 heavy machine gun, 30 mm cannon or a twin 23 mm anti air cannon.
EngineDO 824LFL09 4-cylinder diesel engine
155 hp
Power/weight23.8 hp/tonne[1]
Suspensionparabolic leaf spring with hydraulic shock absorber
Maximum speed 80 km/h (road)

History

It was first seen patrolling the Sudanese streets in 2005 before being unveiled by Iran officially in 2006.[3][4]

Rakhsh was unveiled for the export market, but also entered service in the Iranian police and military.[5][6][7] It is believed that about 20 of them are exported to Sudan as a contract signed in 2004. Deliveries started from 2005 and ended in 2006.[8][2]

Design
An early version of Rakhsh APC.

The hull is made of welded steel which can protect the occupants from 7.62 mm small arms. Driver's is in the frontal left part of the vehicle sided by the commander's. Both of these are protected by bulletproof glasses. In addition, 8 fully equipped troops can be carried by the rear compartment that also has small bulletproof windows and 10 associated firing ports that allows troops to fire their weapons from within the vehicle with some level of protection.

The crew can rapidly enter and leave the vehicle via a door in either side of the hull and twin doors in the hull rear.

It uses a DO 824LFL09 4-cylinder diesel engine with the output of 155 hp giving it a high speed of 80 km/h on road and excellent off-road mobility.[1]

It comes in some different version. The most basic one has a 12.7 mm machine gun attached to the top of the hull with a rotatable mount similar to that of Boragh APC. Other versions are seen with ZU-23-2 23 mm anti air cannons[9] or a 30 mm Autocannon similar to the ones used in Russian BMP-2.[10]

Standard equipment for the Rakhsh includes a central tyre inflation system that allows the driver to adjust the tyre pressure to suit the terrain being crossed, tyres fitted with run flats, differential locks and a powered winch. As it will be deployed in high ambient temperatures an air conditioning system is fitted as standard.

As the Rakhsh has good cross-country mobility, it can be used for a wide range of battlefield missions as well as a baseline APC.[11][12] It could also be modified for use as an internal security vehicle.

Also there are additional options for buyers such as banks of smoke grenade launchers, NBC system and additional ceramic armour. These are reported to increase the protection against 12.7 mm machine guns up to 14.5 mm.[1]

Operators
Map of Rakhsh operators in blue

References
  1. "Modlex product: MXF04-000060 Rakhsh - 4x4 Wheeled APC". Modlex.ir. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  2. "DIO Rakhsh armoured personnel carrier (Iran) - Jane's Armour and Artillery". Articles.janes.com. 2012-01-03. Archived from the original on 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  3. C.F. Foss (November 2006). "Iran reveals Rakhsh APC" – via ResearchGate.
  4. "Information and news about military equipment and army of all countries november year 2006". www.armyrecognition.com. Retrieved Oct 19, 2022.
  5. Familiarity with some of Iran's armoured equipment (Rakhsh) mashreghnews.ir, Retrieved 16 August 2020
  6. Armoured personnel carrier of Rakhsh yjc.ir, Retrieved 16 August 2020
  7. Armoured personnel carrier of Rakhsh aparat.com, Retrieved 16 August 2020
  8. "Trade Registers". Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  9. Armoured personnel carrier (Rakhsh) military.ir, Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2012
  10. Rakhsh military.ir, Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2012
  11. Familiarity with Iranian Armoured tasnimnews.com, Retrieved 16 August 2020
  12. Get acquainted with Iranian Armoured mashreghnews.ir, Retrieved 16 August 2020
  13. Saab, Bilal Y. "Beyond the proxy powder keg: the specter of war between Saudi Arabia and Iran" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Middle East Institute.
  14. "Iran wants to increase exports arms military equipment to friendly neighboring countries 1103122 | March 2012 new army military defence industry | Military army defense industry news year 2012".

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