Kick starting my thread again
Tank is Britannia Miniatures, Figures are from Elhiems Iraqi range and are also newly finished (or rather spruced up, i've begin adding a lot more to my older figures!) ready to do battle against the Infidel, and traitorous non-revolutionaries!!
The Khalid or Chieftain MBT currently see's service in Iran and Jordan, recently these vehicles have in Jordan and supposedly in Iran received 'upgrades' in an attempt to modernise them and maintain some potency on the battlefield, it is unlikely the vehicle would be able to stand up against most Modern Western MBTs.
The Caliphate came into possession of a few hundred of these vehicles during the early stages of Revolution. In the wake of a limited U.S Air War over Iran in 2014, many members of the Iranian Armed forces had lost faith in the Government, and refused to quell a sudden, if unexpected surge in protests against the regime. In fact when the Caliphate movement (back then it was merely believed to be yet another Islamic Revolutionary movement) went militant, only hardcore Government supporters and Military personal who had connections to the regime posed any significant threat; the Army refused to engage the droves of armed revolutionaries, fearing that by turning its army on the militants, and the people, it would fracture the state and bring absolute ruin. However when the U.S stated it would not target units that belonged to the Revolution (it was blissfully unaware of what the Caliphate would become) the majority of Iran's military force entered on the side of the Caliphate militants; within a month, 'Armour of the Revolution' including Khalid MBTs, were storming down the highways of Tehran, faced with little opposition.
With the overthrow of the old regime, and the foundation of one of the first Caliphate Governments, the Iranian army set about reestablishing law and order; often with the help of militants loyal to the regime, at first Khalid's were deployed amongst other armoured vehicles as a tool to threaten would-be rioters. Riots caused by food shortages and unemployment, the result of the U.S blockade in Hormuz, ensured the Iranian army stayed at home. Meanwhile the new Caliphate Government kept the U.S at a distance through lengthy, and often pointless negotiations, whilst planning its next moves, in order to link up with Revolutionaries across the Middle East.
When the Caliphate Wars eventually broke out, the Khalid was amongst the numerous, often outdated armour the Caliphate possessed in its arsenal. The tank served fairly well during the 'Offensives' against other armour possessed by other Middle Eastern states, though as expected it often suffered badly in confrontations with Western forces; in one extreme case, an entire platoon was wiped out by a trio of Apache attack helicopters, an event which emphasised the need for proper aerial defences to accompany armour during campaigns. In another event, during the skirmishes between Allied and Caliphate armour around Sulaymaniyah in Iraq, dozens of Khalid's were destroyed or damaged. That said, critics at the time often wondered whether the high casualty rate was due to the unescapable fact Iran and many other Caliphate middle Eastern forces had not really experienced much Tank on Tank warfare, the last time really being the Iran-Iraq war. It was also well known, that many Tank crews, similar to Caliphate infantry, had been quickly thrown into service; many experienced Tank crewmen had already been killed during the fighting across Iraq and Syria.
Either way, the Khalid continued to be a presence in Caliphate Armoured divisions; it was clearly well liked, since the Caliphate attempted to produce its own variant with some success, producing over a hundred MBTs and many spare parts for repairs before the factory was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in 2018. The Caliphate also managed to capture many Khalid's not destroyed during the advance on Jordan, either by obtaining them after battles etc, or through Jordanian units that had switched sides. In 2020 the Caliphate Government again began creating more advanced copies of the Khalid, though by 2025, construction stopped when the resources to continue their production became too limited.
The last Khalid was decommissioned in 2050, by this time those that had served during the Caliphate wars and World War 3 that had survived were rusting wrecks, in 2035 the remainder had been given over to the Reserve forces, and in 2045 were used as training vehicles. One Khalid would remain in Tehran square right up until 2102, when it was hit by a Sha'ist Plasma missile, who mistook it for a live tank.
Two events where the Khalid became 'famous' was during the Caliphate war; During the battle of Beqaa Valley, North Eastern Lebanon; A Brigade of Khalid MBTs supported by Caliphate Paratroopers with some limited Artillery cover defeated a larger force of Lebanese T-55s and M60s, one of the biggest Tank engagements of the war. In the Second event, A Platoon of Khalids accompanied by two Brigades of T-72s accompanied by Hind helicopters were the first to overrun an American defensive position outside Rutba in Saudi Arabia, despite the enormous casualties suffered during the assault, largely due to American Abrams and Infantry A-T weapons, but also attacks by U.S Navy jets, the Caliphate force destroyed three Abrams, and air support downed one apache helicopter; an apparently major victory.
The Khalid, is not to be confused with the Pakistani Khalid, which also served in large quantities with the Caliphate until exports stopped in 2021.
I'll be putting up a large piece on my blog soon, which will look at Caliphate vehicles overall! I've finished Uni, so its back to the Hobby!