News

2023-05-01

Merkava Remains at Forefront of Israel’s Armoured Arsenal

Main Battle Tanks — Part 4

Over the last four decades, only a select few nations have demonstrated their ability to construct main battle tanks (MBTs), and among them is Israel. Armoured vehicles play a crucial role in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which are renowned for their cutting-edge and effective military capabilities.

Israel relies heavily on armoured vehicles to protect its borders, territory, and defend against military threats. The IDF operates a range of armoured vehicles, such as tanks, armoured personnel carriers (APCs), and other specialised vehicles.

One of the most important armoured vehicles in Israel’s arsenal is the Merkava tank. This advanced main battle tank was first introduced in the 1970s and has undergone several upgrades over the years to maintain its technological edge.

The Merkava IV, the latest version, is one of the world’s most advanced tanks, equipped with sophisticated defence systems and powerful weaponry. Over the years, Israel has developed and deployed several MBTs, each with their own unique features and capabilities.

Here are some of the MBTs utilised by the IDF:

Magach 7

The Magach 7, an upgraded version of the U.S. M60 series main battle tanks, boasts improved armour, engines, and weapon systems. With a 105mm gun and up to 60 rounds of ammunition, it entered service with the IDF in the 1980s and features a new fire control system with a laser rangefinder.

Its armour protection was vastly improved with thick slabs of passive armour, and it also features side-skirts and applique armour on the glacis plate and turret. The tank’s engine and suspension were also upgraded, giving it a much improved cross-country performance.

Magach 7 is fitted with new fire control system with a laser rangefinder.

The engine of the Magach 7 is an improved version of the previous Continental AVDS-1790-2C. The new AVDS 1790-5A is rated at 908 hp and retains an 80 per cent commonality of parts with the older AVDS 1790-2C. The transmission is automatic and sourced from the Merkava Mk.1. It has two forward and one reverse gears.

The improved suspension of the Magach 7 features additional shock absorbers fitted to the first, second and sixth roadwheels. Hydraulic bumpers have also been added to first, fifth and sixth roadwheels. High strength torsion bars were fitted as standard.

Sabra

The Sabra tank, an upgraded version of the Magach 7C, boasts a stronger ballistic profile for its appliqué armour and is equipped with the IMI MG253 120mm gun. Originally developed for export markets, it was first offered to Turkey as an upgrade option for their M60 tanks.

The Turkish government showed interest and picked Sabra Mk II for upgrade programme, which was intended to serve as a temporary solution until their domestic Altay tank was ready.

Developed by Israel Military Industries (IMI), the Sabra is equipped with advanced thermal imaging systems and laser rangefinders.

The contract, estimated to be worth US$ 688 million was signed on March 29, 2002. The first Sabra Mk II was delivered for trials in 2005. It passed all qualifications in May 2006. Thereafter, 170 M60 tanks were upgraded between 2007 and April 2009 by the Turkish Army’s 2nd Main Maintenance Centre Command, with upgrade kits supplied by IMI and in collaboration with its engineers. These 170 vehicles were from the Turkish mark of M60, not Israeli.

The Sabra upgrade package is now being marketed internationally. Although the basis remains the old and trusted M60 chassis, the turret is new, and the engine upgraded.

The Sabra II had an all-electric gun control system. The firing management is assured by the Knight computerised fire control system from El-Op Industries Ltd (Rehovot) and Elbit Systems (Haifa). There is a line-of-sight (LOS) stabilisation in elevation and azimuth for the best first hit probability, stationary or on-the-move against mobile targets.

The Sabra is powered by Continental AVDS-1790-5A turbocharged diesel engine developing 900 horsepower. Chassis is optimised as well as the shock absorbers and torsion bars balanced for better cross-country mobility at 0.97 kg/cm2 ground pressure.

The turret is fitted with the short 120mm MG 253 smooth-bore gun similar to the model developed by IMI (formerly TAAS) for the Merkava Mk 3. It is fitted with a fume extractor and thermal sleeve. This maximises first round hit probability by reducing the barrel distortion.

Protection: The armour protection level is raised compared to the 7C, worthy of a 120 mm-armed MBT. The hull and turrets are fitted with modular passive armour protection blocks, upgraded to explosive reactive armour (ERA) on the Sabra Mk II.

Sabra Mk I: The Mk I was essentially an upgraded Magach 7C. It incorporated a new 120 mm gun developed by IMI, improved applique armour, and the Knight fire control system from Elbit Systems. The running gear would also be upgraded from the Magach to improve cross-country mobility.

Sabra Mk II/M60T: Unlike the Mk I, using a low-profile commander’s cupola, the Mk II had the larger M60 Patton M19 cupola back, fitted with its original M85 12.7 mm machine gun and on the regular M60T in Turkish service. This version also has a Commander’s Independent Thermal Viewer (CITV). The Mk II uses a brand new power unit, the MTU Friedrichshafen engine. It was produced under licence in Turkey by MTU Turk A.S.

Sabra Mk III: The Sabra Mk III, which includes the armour scheme, main gun, RWR/IR warning system, and tracks from Israel’s domestic Merkava Mk IV main battle tank, was tested in Israel and offered to Turkey and other potential customers. However, it has not generated any interest.

Pereh

Israeli army unveiled officially in 2015 the existence of the Pereh, a Magach MBT converted to an anti-tank missile combat vehicle. The vehicle is equipped with a missile launch station that can fire the anti-tank guided missile Tamuz or Spike NLOS (Non-Line-Of-Sight).

The Pereh is a heavily modified M60 Patton main battle tank that is equipped with a 120mm gun. It is designed to operate in urban environments and can provide direct fire support to infantry units. The Pereh was an Israeli guided missile carrier — disguised as a tank.

This design was actually based around a tank hull, the older Magach tank, which is itself based on the American M48 and M60 family of heavy tanks. The crux of the oddball disguise was the turret. Though it appears to sport a full-length main gun, it is actually a ploy —the main gun is not used to fire tank shells. The Pereh fired powerful anti-tank missiles from the back of the turret.

In this disguise, the tank’s turret is somewhat enlarged to make room for Spike missiles. Though the design is well-disguised, one of the factors that gave away the missile carrier was a large, curved antenna mated to the rear of the turret. The missile carrier carried additional missile storage containers on the side and rear of the turret.

Merkava — the Legacy

After years of development and months of training, the Merkava I tank, which was the first fully armoured Israeli vehicle, entered active service in the IDF over three decades ago. Presently, the Merkava is the primary main battle tank used by the IDF.

It was first introduced in 1978 and has undergone several upgrades since then. The tank is designed with crew safety as a top priority, and has a unique design that places the engine at the front of the tank, providing additional protection for the crew.

The tank’s main gun was the 105-millimetre M68 main gun, the same gun that appeared on the IDF’s Centurion, Patton and M60 tanks. The tank carried 62 rounds for the main gun, slightly above average, to ensure the tank could fight through ammunition supply shortages. The tank had three machine guns, including one coaxial 7.62-millimetre machine gun paired with the main gun and additional 12.7- and 7.62-millimetre machine guns up top for the commander and loader.

These were useful for engaging enemy infantry, soft-skinned vehicles and antitank-missile teams, such as the AT-3 Sagger crews that took a heavy toll in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. A burst of machine-gun fire over the heads of a missile operator could throw a command-operated antitank missile off course, saving a tank and its crew.

Mobility was the lowest of the three priorities for the Israeli tank, and the tank used just a nine-hundred-horsepower diesel engine to power a 63-tonne hull, for a horsepower-to-weight ratio of 14.5 to one.

The new tank, known as Merkava (Chariot) was unveiled in May 1979. The tank was unlike anything fielded by other armies, particularly the United States and Soviet Union. The Merkava I, first saw action in 1982, when it fought Soviet-made Syrian T-72 tanks in the Bekaa Valley. Merkavas destroyed several T-72s at ranges of up to 4,000 metres, without loss to a single Merkava.

Merkava IV

The current tank, Merkava IV, retains the Merkava I’s design priorities and incorporates a new redesigned turret, explosive reactive armour and modular passive armour for quicker battle-damage repair. It mounts a larger 120-millimetre main gun with 58 rounds, including the Laser Homing Anti-Tank (LAHAT) guided missile, 18 more rounds than the M1A2 Abrams with a similar gun. It has a larger 1,500-horsepower engine, bringing the horsepower-to-weight ratio up to 23.8 to one, and the tank is correspondingly faster.

The Merkava is protected by the Trophy active-protection system, which uses a combination of turret-mounted sensors and explosively formed projectiles to shoot down enemy tank gun rounds, rockets and antitank guided missiles.

Merkava 4 is slightly larger than the Merkava 3 Baz, which has been in service with the IDF since 1990. The Merkava 3 is offered for export by SIBAT based in Tel Aviv.

The Merkava 4 is different than other tanks in a sense that the engineers did not build it thinking how the crew would manoeuvre it. They designed it thinking how the tank would protect the crew.

The engine is placed in the front of the tank to serve as additional protection and the shielding materials are cutting edge technology. Merkava IV’s active protection system, Trophy, intercepts anti-tank missiles before they can reach the crew.

The Battle Management System shows the crew where the other tanks are and where the forces on the ground are located. It helps the driver to navigate without looking left and right all the time. The tank can be operated without it, but it is clearly a huge advantage.

The tank is capable of carrying eight infantry soldiers, consisting of a command group or three litter patients (stretcher casualties) in addition to the tank crew of commander, loader, gunner and driver.

All-electric Turret

Merkava 4 also has a new all-electric turret developed by Elbit and subsidiary El-Op. Only one hatch is installed in the turret, the commander’s hatch.

The new gun is an advanced generation of the gun developed for the Merkava 3. A Vidco thermal shroud on the gun reduces bending of the barrel resulting from environmental and firing conditions. The gun can fire higher power munitions including new 120mm high-penetration projectiles and guided shells.

The loader can semi-automatically select the ammunition type. The tank carries 48 rounds of ammunition each stored in a protective container. An electrically operated revolving magazine contains 10 ready-to-fire rounds.

The tank is fitted with 7.62mm machine guns and an internally operated 60mm mortar system developed by Soltam Ltd. The mortar can fire explosive and illumination rounds to a range of 2,700m.

Trophy Active Protection System

Merkava 4 has also been fitted with the Rafael Trophy Active Protection System.

Trophy provides 360° coverage against anti-tank rockets, anti-tank missiles and tank HEAT (high-explosive anti-tank) rounds. Once Trophy detects a threat, it is tracked and classified and the optimal intercept point is computed, prior to launching a countermeasure.

Sensors include radar with four antennas placed around the vehicle. The system development was completed in April 2007 and the IDF has approved production for fitting on new Merkava tanks.

The Trophy system entered low-rate initial production (LRIP) in June 2008 and is planned to achieve initial operating capability in late 2009.

The system was successfully tested on the tank by the IDF in December 2010. Merkava 4 is powered by a V-12 diesel engine rated at 1,500hp. The new engine represents a 25 per cent increase in power compared to the 1,200hp powerpack installed on the Merkava 3.

The tank has automatic five-gear transmission rather than four gears as in the Merkava 3. The transmission system is manufactured by Renk and the single position rotary shock absorbers are installed externally.

A new feature of the tank is that the fitted modular special armour covers the turret. The tank is protected against a range of threats, including air-launched precision-guided missiles and advanced and top-attack anti-tank weapons. Automatic fire detection and suppression has been installed.

The underside of the hull has been fitted with additional protection against mines.

The driver and crew compartments are equipped with heating and cooling air conditioning and a Shalon Chemical Industries combined individual and overpressure protection systems against contamination by NBC (Nuclear, biological, chemical) warfare.

Merkava 5 Barak

The next-generation Merkava Mark 5 tank, also known as Barak (lightning), is set to enter initial service in the IDF’s Armoured Corps within a year, according to a report by Walla news in 2022.

The development comes after a new production line for producing the platform has been set up, stated the report.

The tank will include new, advanced sensors enabling it to independently acquire targets and strike them rapidly, as well as deploy electronic-warfare capabilities and advanced processing systems.

A new fire control system has been developed for the Merkava 5 Barak, enabling it to aim and destroy enemy targets in the shortest possible time. The Merkava 5 Barak will also feature a new electronic warfare defence system.

The Merkava 5 Barak replaces the Merkava 4. They, too, use the Trophy active protection system.

The new version will have a system that will automatically fire on targets that pose danger to the tank, like units that launch anti-tank missiles.

Barak will be the first tank to have a smart mission computer that will manage the tanks’ tasks. This advanced artificial intelligence will reduce the team members’ workload and help them more accurately locate and strike targets.

The most incredible advancement is that soldiers can learn how to use the tank via virtual reality (VR) simulation.

Technological Edge

Israel’s armoured vehicles have been used in a variety of conflicts and military operations over the years, including the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, and the 2006 Lebanon War. They have proven to be effective in both offensive and defensive operations, and Israel continues to invest in research and development to maintain its technological edge in this field.

Reference Text/Photo:
www.independent.co.uk
www.idf.il
https://tanks-encyclopedia.com
www.wikipedia.org