Raad-1

Not to be confused with other military uses of "Raad" at Raad (disambiguation).

Raad-1 ('Thunder-1') is an Iranian self-propelled howitzer.

Raad-1 / Thunder-1
Type	Self-propelled artillery
Place of origin	Iran
Service history
Used by	Iran
Wars	none
Production history
Designer	Defense Industries Organization
Designed	May 1996
Produced	1996–unknown[1]
Specifications
Mass	17.5 tonnes
Length	6.72 m
Width	3.10 m
Height	1.66 m (without the turret)
Crew	4 (Commander, driver, gunner and loader)
Effective firing range	15.2 km
Main armament	122mm 2A18 howitzer
Secondary armament	none
Engine	V-8 diesel 330 hp (246 kW)
Suspension	Torsion bar
Operational range	500 km
Maximum speed	65 km/h

History

In May 1996, Iran claimed to have successfully tested its first locally made self-propelled howitzer, the 122 mm Raad-1 ("Thunder-1").^[2]

The Raad-1 did not enter production.^[3] Analysts think most likely it was just a prototype used to develop the Raad-2.^[1]

Description

It is armed with 122 mm 2A18 howitzer from 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer or a modification of one with an effective firing range of 15,200 meters. The turret is also from the 2S1 Gvozdika. It uses the Iranian-made Boragh APC chassis,^[4] a conversion of either the Russian BMP-1 or Chinese Type 86 (WZ-501) IFV. The engine is believed to be the 12.8 l German BF8L diesel engine, but this is not known for sure.^[1]

See also

• Tanks of Iran
• Raad – Iranian anti tank missile.
• Raad-2