# Type 72Z

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{{distinguish|text=the Soviet [T-72](/source/T-72) tank}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name = Type 72Z
| image = SafirTank.jpg
| image_size = 300
| caption = Safir-74 with a DShK mounted on top during a military parade.
| type = [Main battle tank](/source/Main_battle_tank)
| origin = [Iran](/source/Iran)
| is_vehicle = yes
| manufacturer = [Defense Industries Organization](/source/Defense_Industries_Organization), [Military Industry Corporation](/source/Military_Industry_Corporation)
| used_by = See [Operators](/source/Type-72Z_Safir-74)
| wars    = [Sudanese civil war (2023–present)](/source/Sudanese_civil_war_(2023%E2%80%93present))<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brahy |first1=Jérôme |title=Sudanese Army continues to deploy Iranian-made T-72Z main battle tanks in the ongoing civil war |url=https://armyrecognition.com/news/army-news/2025/sudanese-army-continues-to-deploy-iranian-made-t-72z-main-battle-tanks-in-the-ongoing-civil-war |website=armyrecognition.com |access-date=11 April 2025 |language=en-gb}}</ref>
| design_date = 
| production_date = 1996–present
| number = about 400<ref name="t"/>
| variants = See [Variants](/source/Type-72Z_Safir-74)
| length = 6.45m
| width = 3.37m
| height = 2.40m
| weight = 36 tonnes<ref name="GS"/>
| suspension = [Torsion bar](/source/Torsion_bar)
| speed = 65 km/h
| vehicle_range = 440 km
| primary_armament = 105mm [M68](/source/Royal_Ordnance_L7) rifled tank gun<ref name="FAS"/>
| secondary_armament = 7.62mm [coaxial](/source/coaxial) [PKT](/source/PKT_machine_gun) and roof-mounted 12.7mm [DShKM](/source/DShKM) machine guns<ref name="FAS"/>
| armour = 203 mm front of the turret<br>150 mm sides of the turret<br>64 mm rear of the turret<br>39 mm top of the turret<br>97 mm upper front of the hull<br>99 mm lower front of the hull<br>79 mm upper sides of the hull<br>20 mm lower sides of the hull<br>46 mm rear of the hull<br>20 mm floor of the hull{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}<br>fitted with [ERA](/source/explosive_reactive_armour)<ref name="FAS"/>
| engine = V-46-6 V-12 diesel<ref name="GS"/>
| engine_power = 780 hp<ref name="FAS"/> (630 kW)
| crew = 3-4
| pw_ratio = 21.66hp/tonne
}}
{{T-54/55 navigation}}
The '''Type 72Z''' tank (also known as the '''T-72Z''' and the '''Safir-74''',<ref name="AR" /> and the '''Al-Zubair I''' in Sudan)<ref name="FAS" /> is a highly modernized version of the [Type 59](/source/Type_59_tank) and [T-54/T-55](/source/T-54%2FT-55) tanks,<ref name="AR" /> with upgrades carried out by the Iranian [Defense Industries Organization](/source/Defense_Industries_Organization).<ref name="GS">{{cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/safir-74.htm|title=T-72Z Safir-74|first=John|last=Pike|website=Globalsecurity.org|accessdate=26 June 2017}}</ref>

The tank is not to be confused with an Iraqi modernization also known as ''T-72Z'', said to carry a 125 mm gun.<ref name="JED The Military Equipment Directory">{{Cite web |url=http://www.jedsite.info/tanks-tango/tango-numbers-su/t-55_series/t55-series.html |title=JED The Military Equipment Directory |access-date=30 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010033549/http://www.jedsite.info/tanks-tango/tango-numbers-su/t-55_series/t55-series.html |archive-date=10 October 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==History==
{{expand section|date=June 2017}}
The Type 72Z was first announced by the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps](/source/Islamic_Revolutionary_Guard_Corps) in 1996.<ref name="AR">{{cite web|title=Safir-74 / Type 72Z T-72Z main battle tank|url=http://www.armyrecognition.com/iran_iranian_army_heavy_armoured_main_battle_tank_uk/safir-74_t-72z_type_72z_main_battle_tank_technical_data_sheet_specifications_description_pictures.html|website=armyrecognition.com|publisher=Army Recognition|accessdate=4 July 2017|date=19 November 2011}}</ref> The upgrades to the [Type 59](/source/Type_59_tank) and T-54/T-55 tanks were carried out by the Vehicle Industries Group of the Defence Industries Organization, in order to extend the service life of tanks already in use with the [Iranian army](/source/Iranian_army).<ref name="GS" />

==Upgrades==
The 100mm gun of the T-55/Type 59 was replaced with an Iranian-produced derivative of the [105mm M68](/source/Royal_Ordnance_L7) gun, capable of firing [9M117 Bastion](/source/9M117_Bastion) [anti-tank guided missile](/source/anti-tank_guided_missile)s as well as NATO standard ammunition.<ref name="GS" /><ref name="FAS" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inetres.com/gp/military/cv/tank/Type59.html|title=Type 59 Main Battle Tank|website=Inetres.com|accessdate=26 June 2017}}</ref> The Slovenian Fotona Electronic Fire Control System (EFCS-3-55) was added, with automatic and manual [gun stabilizer](/source/gun_stabilizer)s, a [laser rangefinder](/source/laser_rangefinder), [second-generation night sights](/source/Night_vision_device), a ballistic computer, and an independent viewer and target designation system for the commander.<ref name="GS" /><ref name="FAS">{{cite web|last1=Pike|first1=John|last2=Sherman|first2=Robert|title=Type 59|url=https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/row/type-59.htm|publisher=Federation of American Scientists Military Analysis Network|website=fas.org|accessdate=25 June 2017|date=18 June 1999}}</ref><ref name="AR" /> Electric [smoke grenade discharger](/source/smoke_grenade_discharger)s were also added to provide concealment on top of the existing ability to create a [smoke screen](/source/smoke_screen) by injecting diesel fuel into the left exhaust outlet.<ref name="GS" /><ref name="FAS" /><ref name="MF">{{cite web|url=https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=606|title=DIO T-72Z (T-55) Main Battle Tank (MBT)|website=Militaryfactory.com|accessdate=26 June 2017}}</ref>

[Explosive reactive armor](/source/Explosive_reactive_armor) (ERA) developed by the Shahid Kolah Dooz Industrial Complex can be fitted to the Type 72Z, providing protection against projectiles and napalm-type weapons. Side track skirts similar to those on the Type 59 were added to T-54/T-55 tanks upgraded with ERA. <ref name="GS" />

The engine was replaced with a Ukrainian 780&nbsp;hp V46-6 diesel engine,<ref name="FAS" /><ref name="AR" /> together with the SPAT-1200 transmission system.<ref name="GS" /> Air conditioning, power steering and a fire suppression system are also believed to have been installed.<ref name="MF" />

==Variants==
* '''Safir-74''' - Iranian [T-54/T-55](/source/T-54%2FT-55) tanks which have gone through similar upgrades.<ref name="AR" /> Safir means "messenger" in [Persian](/source/Persian_language).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cordesman|first1=Anthony H.|title=Iran's Military Forces in Transition: Conventional Threats and Weapons of Mass Destruction|page=133}}</ref>
* '''Al-Zubair I''' - Sudanese variant of the Type 72Z manufactured by the [Military Industry Corporation](/source/Military_Industry_Corporation),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/modern/Iran/Safir-74.php|title=Safir-74 - Tank Encyclopedia|website=Tanks-encyclopedia.com|accessdate=26 June 2017}}</ref> with the engine upgraded with a [supercharger](/source/supercharger).<ref>{{cite web|title=Al-Zubair-I Main Battle Tank DAA02|url=http://mic.sd/en/product/productDetails/28|publisher=Military Industry Corporation|accessdate=8 November 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717074102/http://mic.sd/en/product/productDetails/28|archivedate=2017-07-17}}</ref>

== Operators ==
<!--READ FIRST: This section is for cited entries only. Please do not add entries into this list without a citation from a reliable source. All entries without a citation will be removed. Thank you.-->

thumb|400px|Map of Type 72Z operators in blue

* {{flag|Iran}}<ref name="AR" />
** [Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps](/source/Ground_Forces_of_the_Islamic_Revolutionary_Guard_Corps)<ref name="t">Galen Wright (15 March 2011) ''Iranian Military Capability 2011 - Ground Forces''</ref>
** [Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces](/source/Islamic_Republic_of_Iran_Army_Ground_Forces)<ref name="t" />
* {{flagicon|Sudan|1985}} [Republic of Sudan (1985–2019)](/source/Republic_of_Sudan_(1985%E2%80%932019)) / {{flag|Sudan}}: First purchased in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.artileri.org/2014/02/iran-memproduksi-senjata-dan-peralatan-militer-canggih.html|title=Iran Memproduksi Senjata dan Peralatan Militer Canggih untuk Pasar Dalam dan Luar Negeri|website=Artileri.org|accessdate=26 June 2017}}</ref>

===Non-state operators===

* {{flagicon image}} [Kata'ib Hezbollah](/source/Kata'ib_Hezbollah)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2015/03/13/irans-expanding-sphere-of-influence-iranian-t-72-tanks-in-iraq/|title=Iran's Expanding Sphere of Influence: Iranian T-72 Tanks in Iraq|date=13 March 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
* [Karrar MBT](/source/Karrar_(tank))
* [Tiam MBT](/source/Tiam_(tank))
* [Zulfiqar MBT](/source/Zulfiqar_(tank))

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{commons category|T-72Z}}

Category:Main battle tanks of Iran
Category:Main battle tanks of the post–Cold War period
Category:Iran–Soviet Union relations
Category:Military vehicles introduced in the 1990s
Category:Armoured fighting vehicles of Iran
Category:Military vehicles of Iran
Category:Tanks of Iran

{{Iran-mil-stub}}{{Cold War tanks}}{{Post-Cold War tanks}}{{T-54/T-55_navigation|style=wide}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Type 72Z](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_72Z) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_72Z?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.