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The Israeli Ministry of Defence held the roll out ceremony of the new main battle tank Merkava, Merkava 4, on 24 June 2002. The 65t Merkava 4 main battle tank entered full production in 2001 and will be in service with the Israel Defence Forces by 2004. The Ministry of Defence will manufacture between 50 and 70 Merkava 4 tanks per year and initial estimates indicate that up to 400 tanks will be manufactured. The Merkava 4 has been extensively improved and features new armour protection and gun and electronics systems.

The 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 not offered for export but the systems and components are exported.

The tank is capable of carrying eight infantry soldiers, a Command Group or three litter patients (stretcher casualties) in addition to the tank crew of commander, loader, gunner and driver. The tank is capable of firing on the move at moving targets and has demonstrated high hit probability in firing against attack helicopters using conventional anti-tank munitions.

Major contractors include: the El Op Electro-Optic Industries subsidiary of Elbit Systems which is responsible for the fire control system; the Israel Defence Force which carries out main construction and system integration and testing; Israel Military Industries for the supply of the main gun, ballistic protection and munitions; Imco Industries for the electrical systems; Urdan Industries for the hull, main turret and castings; and IAI Ramta for protection components.

The main part of the tank production, the construction of the hull and integration of all the systems is carried out in the Israel Defence Force Workshop

Additional Sources:

www.army-technology.com
ams.astro.univie.ac.at
www.net4war.com
chrisevans3d.com
hot.ee/t109tank/pictures
www.reserve-info.de
www.army.lt
home.pages.at/f2kscans
www.jodyharmon.com
mil.qianlong.com
www.waronline.org

The Merkava Generations

Merkava Mk 1

Merkava Mk 2

Merkava Mk 3

The first Mark-1 Merkava tanks were supplied to the IDF in April 1979, nearly nine years after the decision to produce the Merkava tank was taken.

The Merkava tank has been designed in accordance with experience gained from IDF armored battles in all Israel's wars since the Sinai Campaign (1956).

The Merkava Mk-1 is unique in its basic concept, common to all generations of the Merkava, according to which armor and survivability of the tank are its basic features. The tank's protection is based on all-round spaced ballistic armor, and deployment of the tank systems around the crew, thus utilizing basic elements and systems of the tank to protect the crew and ammunition, in addition to their specific functions. The most striking example of this concept is placement of the power pack (engine and transmission) at the front of the tank.

Other factors contributing to the Merkava's survivability are:

Low profile when in firing position
Elimination of flammable materials from the crew compartments
Storage of main gun ammunition under the turret ring, well to the rear of the hull, in heat-resistant containers

The Merkava Mk-I tank participated with a high degree of success in the 1982 war in Lebanon. Its production continued up to 1983, when the IDF Armor Corps began to receive the Merkava Mk-2 tank.

Lessons learned from the operation of the Mk-1 tanks were applied to the Mk-2 tanks, mainly in the following:

Improved mobility
Improved fire control system
Improved special armor
Internal 60-mm mortar

The production of Mk-2 tanks continued until the end of 1989, at which time MK-3 tanks started to come off the production line.

The Merkava Mk-3 entered service in the IDF at the beginning of 1990. It is a sophisticated tank. The difference between the Mk-3 and the Mk-2 is in essence and not in degree. All systems and assemblies were new, and except for the engine, are of Israeli design and production.

Among the prominent features of the Merkava Mk-3 were the new and unique suspension system, the high powered engine, the powerful main gun, and, especially, a new and unique concept of armor. Ballistic protection is provided by special armor modules, which are attached to the tank by bolts. These can be easily replaced whenever better ballistic technology is introduced. Thus, the tank will remain "young" forever.

During the Merkava Mk-3's years of production, a number of modifications have been introduced, the major ones being a modern fire control system with an automatic target tracker ("Baz") and significant improvements in ballistic protection.

The production of the Merkava Mk-3 lasted until 2002, whereupon the Merkava Mk-4 was first fielded to the Armor Corp.

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