A senior Iranian military official announced that the country has built an explosive reactive armor (ERA) stronger and more advanced than the Kontakt-5 used in T90 tanks, Fars News Agency (FNA) reported.

“We have fully attained the capability to produce Kontakt-5 ERA and have even manufactured more advanced samples,” Head of the Ground Force’s Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization General Seyed Massoud Zawareyee said.

Noting that the Kotakt-5 is used for T90 tanks which is the technology of the 1990s, he said that more advanced ERA is needed now and Iran has developed this technology and product.

His remarks came after Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said in February that Iran is no longer interested in buying T90 battle tanks from Russia, and plans to supply its armored needs through domestic production.

“We were once interested in buying the Russian tanks. But since we can manufacture similar models within the country and we plan to do so in the near future, the deal is now off,” Pourdastan said.

According to him, Iran has enough capacity and technological know-how to produce new generation battle tanks and advanced military hardware, so it makes no sense to purchase them from elsewhere.