- Yes
- No
Hello, today I would like to suggest the addition of the Mesbah 1 air defense system into War Thunder.
This peculiar Iranian truck-based SPAA/CIWS system that is equipped with eight 23 mm autocannons and also came with a ballistic computer.
Note 1: Due to the lack of info, many of the specifications of the mobile Mesbah 1 is still unknown.
Note 2: I’ve corrected the section that seems to indicate that the mobile version of the Mesbah has a radar. As I was informed about the new info after this suggestion has been submitted for approval, I was unable to correct this until now, so sorry about that.
The Mesbah 1 system on what appears to be the Iveco Trakker truck. Note the control room just behind the driver’s cabin.
The Mesbah 1 is an Iranian air defense system originally designed to intercept ballistic missile and aircraft at low altitude. The system in its current form were first unveiled in 2010 and entered production in the same year. Though its histroy can be traced back to the years the Iran-Iraq war around 1989. When Iran started to develop an optionally manned version of the ZU-23-2 AA system with track-and-shoot and remote control capability.
An example of an early Mesbah 1 remote-controlled ZU-23-2 systems.
The concept of an optionally manned AA gun will be further developed during the 2000s until the first production model of the Mesbah 1 were unveiled in 2010 as a towed system.
A static Mesbah 1 weapon system. Note a separate controller connected to the left of the system.
A control room of the static Mesbah 1
The control room from the inside.
The Mesbah 1 is initially designed as a towed system with a separate weapon mount and control room. The weapon system is equipped with eight 23 mm ZU-23-2 autocannons with a potential combined rate of fire of 8,000 RPM (to put that into the perspective, the Mesbah has twice the guns and rate of fire as the ZSU-23-4 Shilka) Though official sources stated that the rate of fire of the Mesbah 1 is limited to 4,000 RPM. This lowered fire volume is pursumably to save the ammunition for the system, as each gun has a relatively low ammo count of 200 rounds per magazine (1,600 rounds total). The mount can be rotated in full 360 degree angles, and has an elevation/depression angles of +92/-5 respectively.
The Mesbah 1 is designed to be operated automatically by the crew located in the control cabin separate from the remote-controlled weapon mount. The system utilizes IR/Optical tracking rader in identifying and tracking target. Typically, the weapon would automatically engage the target on its own, though it can also be manually controlled by the gunner/radar operator inside the cabin.
Test firing of the truck-based Mesbah 1.
Ditto, from side view.
An Iranian Herz 9 SAM system based on the Iveco Trakker chassis. Pictured as a reference compared to the Mesbah 1. Note similar body styling on the door.
A truck-based version of the Mesbah 1 were first tested in 2018. Not much is known about this version of the Mesbah other than it seems to be based on the Iveco Trakker 6 x 6 truck (though some info I got said that it was based on a MAN truck instead) that Iran has domestically produced under licensed production and is a chassis of choice of several Iranian anti-air and missile system. The truck version of the Mesbah lacks the IR radar, though it retains a ballistic computer to track the target and manage the fire control.
Note 3: I was a bit unsure about the exact model of the truck at the moment, as the extra info I got about the system said that truck is supposedly based on the MAN truck rather than an Iveco truck. Though the visual cue seems to be hinted more towards it being Iveco truck. So I will list my admittedly mostly guesstimate specifications based on what we knew about the Iveco truck.
Currently, the Mesbah 1 system is in service with the Iranian Aerospace Defense Force, though the exact number in service is unknown.
Specifications:
Crew: 2+1 (Driver, ballistic computer operator, optional gunner)
Length: ~10.5 m
Width: ~2.5 m
Height: ~2.8 m
Empty weight: ~18 tons
Combat weight: ~20 tons
Transmission: Six-wheel drive
Suspension: 6 x 6
Top Speed: 90 km/h
Gearbox: SCGB -320-4p
Power/weight: ~24.65 hp/t in combat ready weight
Engine: Iveco Cursor 13 (493 hp)
Primary Armament: 8 x ZU-23-2 autocannons mounted on single remote-controlled octuple mount. Each gun has a rate of fire of 1,000 rpm (8,000 rpm total), though it can be halved to 500 rpm per gun (4,000 rpm total)
Armor: None, save for negligible amount of aluminum around the gunner’s cabin
Ammo Count: 200 per magazine for each gun, 1,600 rounds in total can be loaded onto the system each time.
Electronical systems: Ballistic computer.
Sources:
Spoiler
Mesbah 1 - Wikipedia
https://brochurefiles.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/Iveco/Trakker+6x6+-+AD450+-+Spec+Sheet.pdf
IVECO Trakker 6x6 Heavy Utility Truck | MilitaryToday.com
سامانه های دفاع هوایی بردکوتاه ایران را بشناسیم - مشرق نیوز
https://cdn.tabnak.ir/fa/news/961045/شکارچی-ایرانی-موشکهای-دشمن-را-بشناسید
مصباح ۱ - ویکیپدیا، دانشنامهٔ آزاد
