Surprisingly, Iran came out with an advanced version of the American M60, much modified to represent historical ties and modern militarily prudent strategies.
The disclosure came at the same time that video clips surfaced online which indicated that Iran had sought to modernize its armored forces by taking inspiration from Israel’s M60T Sabra.
Iran’s defense industry has indeed gone boldly and transformed the M60 that forms part of Iran’s arsenal since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Iran has thus inherited nearly 460 units of these tanks and today, 150 units are in service.
The armor changes sparked a deal of interest in recent times as they boast futuristic design elements and supposed firepower as well as protection upgrades.
Its turret looks drastically altered or even entirely replaced; the new design includes dynamic base protection, strong modular shielding, and an advanced combat module with a machine gun.
These are improvements aimed at enhancing both defense and offense.
Speculations revolve around Iran using an upgraded version of the gun, from the original 105mm to a larger 120mm or 125mm gun that closely resembles the Soviet 2A46 installed on the Iranian Zulfiqar tank. This change works in Iran’s best interest as 125mm guns are the most commonly used gun in Russia.
The striking similarities of Iran’s modernized M60 with the Israeli M60T Sabra, when looking at the turret and panoramic view placement, have experts drawn in their opinion that it was most likely studied Israel in their upgrades, utilizing elements that look to be improving firepower, armor protection, and mobility.
One of the historically significant tanks of various military conflicts, the M60 Patton tank never officially bore the name Patton.
With its emergence, the M60 established its mark in history. For the first time on the battlefield, 1973 saw the employment of Israel in the Yom Kippur War where it played an important role against Soviet-designed T-55 and T-62 tanks.
Used by the United States from 1959 to 1997, the M60 gained its highest profile during the 1991 action in Operation Desert Storm.
It was then that the U.S. Army had switched entirely to the M1 Abrams; however, the Marine Corps continued with the M60A3 TTS variant, using them to good effect against Iraqi forces.
Today, the M60 remains in service with several countries, including Turkey, which has upgraded it to the high-tech Sabra Mk II. This version with composite and explosive reactive armor and advanced surveillance systems shows a tank well and alive in the modern world of warfare.
The change that Iran implemented on its M60 represents heritage and modern-day military innovation; thus the significance of this tank to the defense of the world remains unchanged.