Military Wiki
Military Wiki
Arash Anti-Material Rifle
IRGC-GF New Equipment Ceremony 2014 (40)
Arash held by an IRGC soldier
Type Anti-material rifle
Place of origin Iran
Service history
Used by Iran and Hezbollah
Production history
Designer 2011
Produced 2013–present
No. built 1200
Specifications
Mass 20 kilograms (44 lb) with magazine
Length 180 centimetres (71 in)

Cartridge Probably 20×102mm, HEI[1]
Action semi-automatic
Muzzle velocity 1050 m/s[2]
Maximum firing range 3000 m[2]
Feed system Box magazine
Sights Telescopic, BORS-like[1]

Arash (Persian: آرش‎)[3] is an Iranian 20mm semi-automatic anti-materiel sniper rifle. This weapon is used by Iran and Hezbollah, and is named for the mythical Arash the Archer.

Features[]

IRGC-GF New Equipment Ceremony 2014 (41)

Arash anti-materiel rifle

The Arash sniper rifle is a semi-automatic weapon with rotating bolt and gas operated reloading. It has an eight riflings straight back from left to right.[Clarification needed] It is 180 cm-long weapon, and is equipped with optical cameras. It is typically used as a shoulder-fired weapon. The rifle weighs between 18 and 20 kilograms, and fires 20 mm ammunition.[2][4][5] It is fired in a standing position with a forward bipod and the gun resting over the user's shoulder, similar to an RPG. The stock is positioned midway along the length of the weapon with the pistol grip just forward of it. It is arranged in a bullpup configuration with the trigger assembly forward of the magazine, which is loaded behind the user's back, making reloading awkward. The recoil of firing a 20 mm round is mitigated by a huge cone-shaped quadruple baffle muzzle brake and the design of the gun which makes it pivot on the operator's shoulder. The scope appears to use a copy of the Barrett Optical Ranging System (BORS), which calculates atmospheric conditions to determine the rifle's optimal position to take an accurate shot. The position of the scope is relatively high, making it difficult to fire the rifle in the prone position, so the Iranians operate it using two-man motorcycle teams to perform "shoot and scoot" tactics.[1][6] The Arash can be used to target hostile helicopters at a range of approximately 2,000 meters, and has the ability to be used against ground and armored targets as well as enemy trenches.[7]

Users[]

  • Flag of Iran Iran
  • Hezbollah
  • Liwa Assad Allah al-Ghalib fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham

See also[]

References[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Arash anti-materiel rifle and the edit history here.