"Merkava tank.
Israel's armored chariot.
Merkava tanks
(Hebrew: Chariot)
are the mainstay of Israel's armored forces.
They were created in specific conditions, based on experience gained from the Middle Eastern battlefield, and the directions of their development were constantly verified in the heat of subsequent conflicts.
When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, photos
of a destroyed Merkava Mk 4 tank circulated around the world.
The machine, considered to be one of the best armored tanks in the world and equipped with
the Trophy active defense system, was destroyed by an anti-tank grenade grenade dropped by a drone.
The sight of the destroyed tank provoked comments that the legend of the exceptionally
safe, well-thought-out and crew-friendly Merkava was exaggerated. Were the critics of the Israeli tank right?
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The experience gained from the Yom Kippur War made the Israeli authorities decide on the need to standardize armor and develop and implement their own tank.
This is how Merkava was born.
- The engine at the front of the tank -
Its main designer, General Izrael Tal, a tankman with combat experience , had a difficult task ahead of him.
It should be remembered that in the 1970s, when the first Merkava was created, Israel did not have access to special armor - multi-layer, made of materials with different characteristics, protecting, among others,
Abrams ,
Challenger and
Leopard 2 tanks.
Therefore, to maximize crew protection, the new tank uses armor made of
several layers of steel with different properties.
As an additional protection, the engine is used, which - unlike in other main battle tanks - is located at the front of the vehicle, next to the driver.
This construction makes the Merkava stand out because it can leave the tank through
a hatch located in the rear armor.
This is important due to the tactics of using these machines, which often
serve in fortified positions , protected from enemy fire, e.g. by earth embankments.
In such a situation, even after the Merkava has been hit, the surviving crew has the opportunity to leave the tank through a safe rear exit, without exposing themselves to enemy fire.
Although the rear exit and space inside the tank may give this impression, the Merkava
was not designed with the transport of landing troops in mind . In exceptional circumstances, several people or, for example, a stretcher with a wounded person can fit in the rear hatch, but this requires removing most of the ammunition from the tank.
Ammunition separation
The one in the Merkava Mk 4 is transported differently than in most modern tanks. Full separation of ammunition from the crew was not achieved, as in the Abrams. Instead, another interesting solution was used to increase safety.
There are only four missiles in the crew compartment. Another 10 are placed in two revolver magazines in the turret niche, where - similarly to the Abrams tank - there are exhaust flaps in the ceiling of the
ammunition magazine , through which the energy of the explosion escapes outside the vehicle.
The rest of the ammunition is housed in the hull, but each round is contained in an individual fireproof container, minimizing the risk of ammunition igniting if hit.
Armored cover
Merkava's armor has evolved from version to version. The current shape of the tank, with a caricaturally large turret, is the result of the use of additional modules mounted on the main armor, which cover both the hull and the turret itself.
Their large size provides space in which various
mechanisms can operate to reduce the effects of a hit , such as the movement of armor plates, which move after being hit by a projectile, damaging the penetrator
of the anti-tank projectile or dispersing
the cumulative jet.
Additional protection is provided by various components, such as batteries or a water tank, which surrounds the crew.
The price for powerful armor protection is the weight of the tank , which in the Merkava Mk 4 version exceeds 65 tons, and in the Mk 5 variant it is estimated at over 70 tons.
Security systems
The armor is complemented by WRE systems installed in Israeli tanks . These include, for example, jammers that prevent remote radio firing of improvised explosive devices. Merkava also has an interesting way of placing a smoke screen.
Active Trophy defense system
An addition that has become a tank standard in recent years, installed, among others, on German or American tanks, there is also the famous Trophy
hard-kill active defense system (i.e. destroying incoming bullets). It is a set of sensors - radars with flat antennas - and explosively formed missiles fired at the incoming threat.
Trophy not only neutralizes the incoming missile, but also transmits information to the fire control system about the place from which - according to calculations - it was fired. This allows you to quickly and effectively destroy an attacking enemy tank."
Much more in the link from my country's MSM
Czołgi Merkawa (hebr. Rydwan) to filar wojsk pancernych Izraela. Powstały w specyficznych warunkach, na podstawie doświadczeń wyniesionych z bliskowschodniego pola walki, a kierunki ich rozwoju były stale...
tech.wp.pl
