HM 20 Hadid

     Notes: The Hadid is based on the Russian BM-21 Grad MRL; however, the Hadid fires purpose-designed rockets instead of Grad rockets.  The chassis of the Hadid is an older, refurbished Mercedes-Benz 2624 6x6 truck, which were originally sold to the Shah’s regime in the early 1970s.  The truck is a surprisingly heavy-duty vehicle; normally, as a standard truck, it has a capacity of 12 tons. The engine is a direct-injection diesel developing 280 horsepower, coupled to a synchromesh manual transmission. Though the commander, driver, and gunner stay in the cab, the rest of the crew (mostly the reloading crew) sit in seats at the rear of the cab, and take cover in front of the truck when the launcher is firing.

     The launcher is obviously derived from the Grad.  Four types of rockets may be loaded into the launcher, the extended-range Arash 4, the short-range Arash 3 (also called the Noor), the medium-range Arash 2, and the long-range Arash 1.  These Iranian rockets do not have the flexibility of warheads that the Grad has, nor do they have the range, but they have the advantage of being domestically-built and can be built in small facilities.  The Hadid uses tha same telescopic and panoramic sights as the BM-21.  The launcher has a traverse of 102 degrees left of center and 72 degrees right. The elevating and traverse mechanism are electrical, manual, and mounted on the launcher; the AG operates them with instructions from the gunner, and the gunner can also make fine adjustments to the launcher’s elevation and traverse.  The launcher does not operate in the same manner as most other Grad-based systems and it cannot use Grad rockets. The Hadid is essentially a simple MRL that has average accuracy and is used primarily against area targets.

     Hadids have seen action since the Iran-Iraq War, and continues to this day, lending aid to ISIS insurgents in Iraq.  Certain Iranian Army units remain in Iraq, and they are backed up by many combat vehicles, including the Hadid.

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$254,676

D, A

607 kg

13.15 tons

6

13

Headlights

Enclosed*

 

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

165/83

46/23

300

104

Trtd

W(3)

TF1  TS1  TR1  HF1  HS1  HR1

 

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

None

None

40-Round Hadid Rocket Launcher

40xArash 1, 2, 3, or 4 rockets

*Only the cab has an Enclosed radiological rating; the rest of the truck has a Radiological level of Open.