9/2/2023 0 Comments Israel main battle tankThe commander’s exposure was eliminated on the first Merkava tanks by using a mirror. As Tal explained, mirrors are easily replaced and cheap. Commanders are neither. The first important innovation in the Merkava was to move the power plant from the rear to the front of the tank. This added additional frontal protection, but it also made room for the tank crew to exit from a rear hatch. It also enabled the tank to safely extract wounded from the battlefield. In cars, we measure this typically in rating how long it takes to go from zero to 60 miles per hour or zero to 96 kilometers per hour. Mobility was also important but, as Tal made clear, the key in tank battles was not the tank’s top speed but rather its ability to sprint out of trouble. His goal for a new tank was one that focused first and foremost on crew protection instead of firepower. Tal had already become a tank hero based on his performance during the Six-Day War (June 1967) and his leadership in the southern command in the Yom Kippur War. He was a student of tank warfare and was regarded as one of the best tacticians in the business. The genius behind Israel’s new tank was General Israel Tal (1924-2010), known in Israel as Tallik. The Merkava tank evolved from the fighting experience of Israeli armored forces in the Yom Kippur War in October 1973. In that war, Israel had British Centurion tanks, US M-48 Patton and M-60 main battle tanks and some upgraded Russian T-55 tanks. Merkava V goes by the model name Barak. It appears the name is not a reference to Ehud Barak, who was chief of staff and later prime minister. In Hebrew the word barak means lightning.īarak also refers to the Biblical military leader Barak, who was a commander under Deborah (1107 BC to 1067 BC), Israel’s first woman leader or judge (Judges 4, 5). Barak fought against the Canaanite general Sisera whose army had 900 iron chariots (the name merkava means chariot). Through clever tactics, Barak and Deborah defeated Sisera. The new tank differs from its predecessors because of its expanded and integrated weapons, operational autonomy and 360-degree active defense systems. This puts the Israeli tank far ahead of all its competitors – including Russia’s latest tank, known as the T-14 Armata. While American and European main battle tanks rest on 1970s designs, Israel has again forged ahead by introducing its latest tank, the Merkava V.
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