Al-Zarrar

The Al-Zarrar is a modern main battle tank (MBT) developed and manufactured by Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) of Pakistan for the Pakistan Army. An upgraded variant of the Chinese Type 59 tank, the Al-Zarrar is cost-effective modern replacement for the Type 59 fleet of the Pakistan Army. Equipped with modern armament, fire control and ballistic protection, the Al-Zarrar upgrade is also offered by HIT to the armies of foreign countries to upgrade their T-54/T-55 or Type 59 tanks to Al-Zarrar standard. 54 modifications made to the Type 59 make the Al-Zarrar effectively a new tank.

The Al-Zarrar development program started in 1990. HIT began mass production of Al-Zarrar on May 6th, 2003 under a renowned Project Manager, Engineer Mahmood Khan. First batch of 88 Al-Zarrar tanks were delivered to the Pakistan Army on February 26th, 2004. Delivery ceremony was graced by General Pervez Musharraf.

Users

 * Pakistan
 * Pakistan Army