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The Toophan ( "typhoon", rarely Toofan) is an Iranian
SACLOS Semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) is a method of missile command guidance. In SACLOS, the operator must continually point a sighting device at the target while the missile is in flight. Electronics in the sighting device and/or the ...
anti-tank guided missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulde ...
reverse-engineered Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompl ...
from the American
BGM-71 TOW The BGM-71 TOW ("Tube-launched, Optically tracked, wire-guided missile, Wire-guided", pronounced ) is an American anti-tank missile. TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS.10 and ENTAC, offering roughly twice the effective range, a more ...
missile. The Toophan 1, an unlicensed copy of the BGM-71A TOW missile, began mass production in 1988 and the Toophan 2, a BGM-71C ITOW variant, was publicly shown in 2000. The Toophan comes in at least 11 variants, many of which are poorly documented, including variants with
laser guidance Laser guidance directs a robotics system to a target position by means of a laser beam. The laser guidance of a robot is accomplished by projecting a laser light, image processing and communication to improve the accuracy of guidance. The key ide ...
,
thermobaric A thermobaric weapon, also called an aerosol bomb, or a vacuum bomb, is a type of explosive weapon, explosive munition that works by Dust explosion, dispersing an aerosol cloud of gas, liquid or powdered explosive. The fuel is usually a single ...
warheads, and tandem-warheads with increased penetration. The Toophan is manufactured jointly by the Aerospace Industries Organization of Iran and Iran Electronics Industries. It is normally deployed from ground-based tripods, but can also be mounted on fighting vehicles and helicopters. Like the BGM-71 TOW missile, the Toophan is a large, rugged, powerful, and reliable anti-tank guided missile deployed by small teams against tanks, armored vehicles, buildings, and other targets. The Toophan forms the backbone of the Iranian Armed Forces' ATGM inventory and is procured in large quantities in a variety of variants. The Toophan has been exported to the governments of
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
and
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
and to a large number of
non-state actors A non-state actor (NSA) is an individual or organization that has significant political influence but is not allied to any particular country or state. The interests, structure, and influence of NSAs vary widely. For example, among NSAs are non-pr ...
in the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
, and has been used in the
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
, the
2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, fought between Hezbollah and Israel. The war started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, thoug ...
and the Iraqi, Syrian, and Yemeni Civil Wars.


Development

Iran was among the earliest countries to import the TOW missile, as far back as 1971. Extensive repair and assembly facilities were set up at the Iran Electronics Industries (IEI) by the Texas-based Emerson Energy Systems, as well as Hughes Missile Systems, to repair TOW and FGM-77A Dragon missiles. In May 1975, negotiations between Iran and Hughes Missile Systems on co-production of TOW and
AGM-65 Maverick The AGM-65 Maverick is an air-to-ground missile (AGM) designed for close air support. It is the most widely produced precision-guided missile in the Western world, and is effective against a wide range of tactical targets, including armor, a ...
missiles stalled over disagreements in the pricing structure. Hughes set the royalty and initial investment costs for Iran at $20 million for the TOW and $25 million for the Maverick. The subsequent
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
in 1979 ended all plans for such co-production.Ann Tibbitts Schulz, ''Buying Security: Iran Under the Monarchy'' (San Francisco: Westview Press, 1989), pp. 57–58. The
Iran–Iraq war The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
lead to Iran having an acute need for anti-tank guided missiles to counter Iraq's massive armored formations, leading Iran to import thousands more TOW missiles, as well as Soviet AT-3 Sagger ATGMs. Attempts at local production of both systems began in the first half of the war, with the TOW missile being prioritized due to its better performance. The earliest prototype version was ready in mid-1985, but performance was disappointing compared to Iran's US-made TOW missiles, which received widespread praise in Iran at the time. Following about a year and a half more of R&D work, the Toophan was tested against Iraqi tanks and showed better performance. The missile was shown on an Iranian TV show on March 21, 1987, and production of what would be named the Toophan 1 began by early 1988. R&D and production work continued through the 1990s. The missile was not publicly revealed until 2000, when the Toophan 1 and Toophan 2 were publicly unveiled at the same time. The Toophan has since become Iran's primary anti-tank guided missile. In addition to Toophan missiles, Iran also produces reverse engineered tripod launchers, guidance sets, and storage boxes, all of which bear the Toophan name. Toophan missiles can be fired from TOW launchers, and their components are generally interchangeable. A number of sources say that the Toophan's quality is inferior to that of original American-made TOW missiles, but is still robustly capable. In 2014 Iran showed a Toophan/TOW simulator they built for helicopter-launched missiles. In a December 2016 military exercise Iran used the missile against naval targets. In 2018 Iran showed off thermal-sights which can be used with the Toophan. The Toophan can be mounted on
Boragh Boragh or Boraq () is an Iranian-made armoured personnel carrier. Boragh is believed to be a reverse engineering, reverse engineered and upgraded model of the Chinese BMP-1, Type 86 (BMP-1). The upgrades include a reduction in weight, a higher roa ...
APCs, ATVs, or Safir jeeps. Toophan missiles can be repaired by Iran's Shiraz Electronics Industries. The Toophan was later developed into the Sadid-1, an ambitious project to build a competitor to the Israeli Spike-ER fire-and-forget missile for attack helicopters and drones. The Sadid-1 had limited success, but was used to develop the successful Sadid-345 glide bomb, which in turn spun off a smaller counterpart, the Qaem air-to-ground munition. In 2018, it's reported that the Toophan can have the “RU244TK” and “RU150TK” thermal imaging cameras attached.


Combat history


Iran–Iraq War

Prototype versions of the Toophan-1 were used in the tail end of the Iran–Iraq War.


2006 Lebanon War

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
received Toophan missiles in the early 2000s and used them against Israeli
Merkava The Merkava (, , "chariot") is a series of main battle tanks used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) which are the backbone of the Armored Corps (Israel), IDF's Armored Corps. Current iterations of this tank are considered broadly equivalent t ...
tanks and other vehicles during the
2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, fought between Hezbollah and Israel. The war started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, thoug ...
.


Syrian Civil War

The Toophan missile has seen extensive use in the Syrian Civil War. Hezbollah has used Toophan missiles in the war and is one of the missile's most prominent users. The missiles have also been provided to the Syrian Army and Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Syria. Toophan missiles first appeared in Syria reportedly in October 2015. Overall the Toophan missile's use in Syria is poorly documented, but Toophan-1 missiles seem to be the most common. Furthermore, the Kurdish YPG militia has used Toophan 1 missiles as well. The missiles have since proliferated to a wide range of non-state actors operating in Syria. In addition, Toophan missiles have been captured by groups fighting the Syrian government, including ISIS and al-Nusra.


Iraqi Civil War

The first known Iraqi group to receive Toophans was Asaib-Ahl-Al-Haq in 2014. The
Badr Organization The Badr Organization ( ''Munaẓẓama Badr''), previously known as the Badr Brigades or Badr Corps, is an Iraqi Shia Islamist and Khomeinist political party and paramilitary organization headed by Hadi al-Amiri. The Badr Brigade, formed in ...
obtained Toophans in 2015 and the Toophan has since been provided to other Shiite militias organized under the Popular Mobilization Units. Iraq's Federal Police have also been delivered Toophans.


Yemen Civil War

Iran has shipped Toophan missiles to the Houthis in Yemen as well, where they have been used in combat. The first video of Houthis using a Toophan missile was published in November 2018.


Identification

Given that the Toophan is reverse-engineered from the US TOW missile, the identification of Toophan missiles versus TOW missiles is difficult. The Toophan ATGM is very similar to the American BGM-71 TOW ATGM from which it is reverse-engineered. Toophan missiles, launchers, control units, and crates are essentially interchangeable with their American counterparts and are regularly mixed together. The many variations of TOW and Toophan missiles also poses challenges. Toophan missiles can often be identified by their turquoise bands installed by Iran's Defense Industries Organization or by a faint black band on the rear end of the launcher. Toophan missiles, on their packaging, are instead labeled as TOW missiles; for example a Toophan 2M is labeled as a "TOW 2M". Modern TOW tripods have black rings, while Toophan tripods have yellow rings. Internally, Toophan missiles have different screw placement and cylindrical launch motor nozzles.


Variants


Operators

* **
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...
Ali Nuri Zadeh (1 August 2001) "Upon Regional and International Pressure, Iran Scales Down the Production of Ballistic Missiles and Focuses on Shorter Range and Better More Accurate Weapons; Iran Announced a Successful Test of Anti- Armor Saeqeh-1 Missile," Al-Sharq al-Awsat (London) ** Iranian Army *** Ground Forces * **
Syrian Arab Army The Syrian Arab Armed Forces (SAAF; ) were the combined armed forces of Syria from 1963 to 2024. They served during the rule of the Ba'ath Party in Syria. The SAAF consisted of the Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air D ...
** YPG * ** Popular Mobilization Units * ** * **
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...


References

{{Commons category, Toophan Anti-tank guided missiles of Iran Anti-tank guided missiles of the Cold War Guided missiles of Iran Military equipment introduced in the 1980s Wire-guided missiles