Iranian Toofan laser-guided anti-tank missile production line displayed


Toofan anti-armor missile system is a laser-guided system with the ability to strike at low-flying aerial targets, which is manufactured by the Iranian Defense Ministry experts and is a copy of TOW missile system.


Iranian Toofan laser guided anti tank missile production line displayed
Toofan production line (Picture source: The Iran Project)


The Toophan is an Iranian SACLOS anti-tank guided missile reverse-engineered from the American BGM-71 TOW 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, thermobaric warheads, and tandem-warheads with increased penetration. The Toophan is manufactured jointly by the Aerospace Industries Organization of Iran and Iran Electronics Industries.

The Toophan is normally deployed from ground-based tripods. It 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's ATGM inventory and is procured in large quantities in a variety of variants. The Toophan has been exported to the governments of Iraq and Syria and to a large number of non-state actors in the Middle East. It has been used in the Iran-Iraq War, the 2006 Lebanon War and the Iraqi, Syrian, and Yemeni civil wars.

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 APCs, ATVs, or Safir jeeps. Toophan missiles can be repaired by Iran's Shiraz Electronics Industries.