Monday, July 15, 2013

36th Independent Armored Brigade

Located in the city of Miyaneh in the East Azerbaijan province in northwestern Iran, the 36th independent brigade is, according to most sources, armored, but has also been referred to as mechanized.


Parade imagery from Army Day 2013 shows the use of BTR-60PB, and Zu-23-2-armed Boragh air-defense APCs, the latter supplemented by towed Zu-23-2s. Also visible is a motorcycle-based anti-tank battalion armed with RPG-7s, whose apparent size is consistent with an assumed strength of 27 bikes/Bn.

GEOINT available from Google Earth dates from August 2010. The base covers a large area on the south-eastern portion of the city of Miyaneh, and is situated on Road 32 which connects Tehran, Qazvin, Tabriz, and Bazargan near the Turkish Border.

There is a scarcity of barracks-type buildings, only the four buildings with red roofs in the eastern half of the compound fit the bill, though there are additional apartments in the southern part of the compound. Munitions storage can be found north of road 32.

Little of the brigades armor is in view. Several pieces of bright-yellow earth-moving equipment can be readily identified. (1) One or two AFVs feature a large, rear-mounted turret with a long forward facing barrel, suggesting an M109. (2) Eight M113s are visible in two different groupings of four. (3) One or two BTR-60s are likely visible as well. (4) Likewise, only one tank is visible, though can be easily identified as a T-XX model thanks to it's circular turret. (5) It is likely the rest of the battalion is under the adjacent covered parking, which has enough room for around 40 tanks. It is possible the large, square, indented buildings function as garages, concealing the rest of the brigade's armor. 





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