Note: The Trophy vehicle protection system is displayed to good effect in these pics...additionally you can see the Achzarit Heavy APC can be seen in the background. While the M113 has come under fire for being too lightly armored to operate in urban areas, we haven't heard the same about the Achzarit. I expect to see tank to APC modification become the norm worldwide due to that vehicles performance.
Tank to APC conversions are unlikely to become the norm, ,for most users conventional BMP layout APC is still the best choice . HAPC are to big to heavy ,limited in many ways, if you keep things simple you can take a modern design like puma or CV-90 and armor them to the same level and without a turret APC is about 1/3 cheaper than IFV. Puma has 43ton design weight which is about the same as Soviet MBTs used for these conversions.
ReplyDeleteBut you do have thousands of old tanks round the world that could be converted . But from what i have seen Achzarit modification of a T55 is very extensive ,bordering on a newbuilt. Merkava based Namer is an easy conversion in comparison.
You always come up with the best photos! (Including that Merkava on your header) Where do you find them? How about some infantry/recon photos, eh?
ReplyDeletethey're all from IDF websites. they're as good as the USMC on getting their story out....and yeah i have neglected the infantry/recon. more will be coming.
DeleteThought I knew at one time but I guess I don't. What are the little decorative things hanging off of the rear turret?
ReplyDeleteRPG detonating chains with ball weights ,cheap and simple solution ,that detonates RPG before it makes contact with the armor rendering the shaped charge ineffective.
Deleteexactly right. the turret ring is exposed in the back of the Merkava revealing one of the only real weak points that i'm aware of (that will result in injury to the crew.....disabling the tank is as easy as kill a tread).
DeleteThanks!
DeleteSince we were talking about sayarot/recon units earlier, I'll point out that Brigade 401 is one of the armored brigades that has a regular reconnaissance company of their own. Palsar 401. Used to be that it was only 401 and Brigade 7 that had their own regular recon among the tank brigades. They have a professional, set training pipeline like all specialized units. My reserve company and most of the other infantry recon companies serving armor were a bit informal. We were all graduates of regular service in infantry units, and just sort of 'made up' the infantry/recon company. We got trained on-the-job. Also, these recon companies are distinct from what were recon battalions of mixed tanks and infantry, such as fought in the Sinai during the '73 war.
ReplyDeleteI saw this article on Palsar 401. A quick Google search, even in English, will bring up some info on Palsar 401 or Palsar 7.
ReplyDeleteOops, forgot the link: http://www.haaretz.com/back-to-basics-1.277372
DeleteThe 401st Brigade has the only Merkava tanks equipped with the Trophy APS, due to budget contsraints. According to unsubstantiated reports (from TV reprters) there were 10 successful intercepts of RPG/Missile attacks. Like Iron Dome this seems to work. Unprotected Merkava tanks (2 and I believe 3) were penetrated in 2006 in Lebanon, leading to 23 dead and about equal number of wounded.
DeleteNo upto date information is currently available, due to operational costraints.
The Tank to APC conversion will become a niche specific tool for nations like Israel or Russia to deal with their own counter insurgencies...or, even less likely, the united states that has the logistical capability to deploy such vehicles in operations on a large scale (and that is even sketchy these days.
ReplyDeleteThe merkava pics are beautiful. What a fucking machine. The merkava is everything a main battle tank should strive to be and will remain world standard for some time; more than capable of fucking up tanks, while specializing in the arguably more important role of heavy armor to support infantry and ensure maximum crew survivability.