Boragh or Boraq is an Iranian-made armoured personnel carrier. Boragh is believed to be a reverse engineered and upgraded model of the Chinese Type 86. The upgrades include a reduction in weight, a higher road speed, and stronger armor. The vehicle is fully amphibious and is fitted with an NBC protection system and infra-rednight vision equipment. It was reported in May 2002 that three additional variants are produced by the Vehicle and Equipment Group of the Iranian Defence Industries Organisation. These are a 120 mm mortar carrier, an ammunition resupply vehicle, and an armoured personnel carrier fitted with improved armaments.
Description
Boragh is a tracked APC. Rubber elements on the track are added to prevent damage on paved surfaces. It has a crew of three. It can transport up to 8 infantry soldiers. Boragh's main armament consists of the DShK 1938/46 12.7 mm heavy machine gun on a rotatable mount. Some vehicles have the machine gun mount protected all around by an armoured shield. The vehicle is equipped with an NBC protection system and is capable of laying down a defensive smoke screen by injecting diesel fuel into the exhaust outlet. The vehicle is named after the Buraq, a winged steed from Islamic mythology.
Boragh – Reverse engineered BMP-1 or Type 86 converted into an APC. It is very similar to Chinese WZ-503 APC. It has V-8 turbocharged diesel engine which delivers 330 hp. It also has road wheels from the US M113 APC. Combat weight was reduced to 13 tonnes. The other upgrades include a higher road speed and stronger armor. Number of passengers was increased from 8 to 12. The 12.7 mm DShK 1938/46 heavy machine gun serves as a main weapon of the vehicle.
* Boragh APC with a shield around DShK 1938/46 heavy machine gun mount.
* Boragh converted into an IFV. The armament is mounted in a turret. The primary armament consists of the 2A42 30 mm autocannon stabilized in both planes with a double-belt feed. The secondary armament consists of the PKT 7.62 mm tank machine gun, mounted coaxially with the gun. The vehicle is also armed with a mount for an anti-tank guided missile system. Some were also fitted with the complete turret of the BMP-1, armed with a 73mm smoothbore gun.
* Raad-2 – Boragh converted into a self-propelled howitzer fitted with a turret that has a similar layout to the M109A1 155mm/39-cal self-propelled howitzer fitted with 155 mm HM44 howitzer manufactured by the Hadid facility of the Iranian Defence Industries Organisation. The gun looks exactly like 155mm/39-cal M185 gun from M109A1 and is fitted with a double baffle muzzle brake, fume extractor, screw breech mechanism, hydro-pneumatic recuperator and a hydraulic recoil brake.
