via Jerusalem Post.
The IDF's 7rh Armored Brigade is in the midst of a modernization process that will see all tank battalions equipped with the Merkava Mk. 4 tank by 2016, a senior army source said Tuesday.Israel's recent fight is causing a serious back to basics movement. Good to see.
The brigade's 75th battalion will complete the switch over from the Merkava Mk. 2 tank to the Mk. 4 on Thursday, and an additional two tank battalions will complete the process within two years, he added.
The tanks will come equipped with Raphael's Trophy active protection system against anti-tank missile attacks, making them suitable for combat in complex and hostile environments saturated with guerrilla cells armed with anti-tank missiles, particularly, in Lebanon against Hezbollah, according to the source.
The Seventh Brigade's fourth battalion is an engineering corps unit, and the brigade is also supplemented by a specialized infantry company that travels around in armored vehicles.
"The last time we got a new tank was in the 1980s," the officer said.
"This will enhance our ability to fight in closed spaces and hilly areas, against an enemy that disappears," he stated.
would be great if a merkava mount a rocket launcher pod to complement it's single mortar.. now thats a tank with troop carrying ability and rocket artilery capable lol..
ReplyDeleteSolomon, recounting the L55 vs the 44 caliber debate that you were having in the Singapore tank post, what kind of a 120mm does a Merkava Mk.4 mount ?
ReplyDeleteSingh - I don't consider the higher velocity antitank capability a must for the Merkava 4, since the current tube is adequate for most tanks. However, the APS is a must in the new type of warfare evolving - no more Kursk or Golan/Sinai tank battles seem to be in the future. More like the Third Gaza war engagements in urban settings, infantry with various antitank weapons (RPG anf Kornet). The new 120mm HE shell with delayed fuze was used very effectively against the antitank teams and the Trophy APS saved many tanks from destruction.
ReplyDeleteCombined infantry/armour/artillery/air assets/intelligence, all being intimately connected on a NET (the Zayad - Digital Land Army) were the order of the day, with very short kill reaction times. The new NET warfare in the new Orange.