MXCD-ROMOS
Merkava Extreme Combat Delivery & Remote
Omnipotent Military Operating System
MERKAVA BAZ
WITH ASPRO-A
(TROPHY
II)
Tochnit ha Merkava Siman ARBA
BAZ First Images With
Integrated Trophy II APS & Tadir FCS (SharpShooter) Systems Installed
2007 Merkava Mark IV BAZ Tzahal MBT series with TADIR FCS & Trophy II "360°
Hemispheric"
APS (Active
Protective
System)
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.
Tank MBT / MICV Main Battle Tank / Mechanize Infantry Combat Vehicle
Series
Merkava / Nemer
Biblical:
Chariot (MBT) & Tiger (Armor Personnel Carrier)

Merkava Mark IV BAZ Roll-Out
Announced February 2007 by OC Armor Corps Brigadier General H. Rodoi

Me, still in my ole floppy signature hat & my 'friend'
lurking behind me. She's quiet now.
![]()
| name=Tochnit ha Merkava
(Official Chariot Tank Program).
| image=[[Image:Merkava-mkIV-BAZ-LIC-picX.jpg|300px|Merkava 4]]
As a
result of the conflict August 2006, MANTAK,
the IDF group that is in charge of all Merkava production, put in an immediate
Rush
requisition for 100 Trophy II systems, 100 BAZ
Knight Mk4 'Tadir'
SharpShooter
FCS & 100 L3 1500hsp power-packs (formerly the General Dynamics
Land Systems Division).
Trophy II is a 2007 development that has 2 inherent advances. First is 'Duplex'
mode where the tank can come under fire in two or
more directions simultaneously and defeat different types of threats all at the
same time. Second, the interceptor can be RE-loaded
from with-in the tank without exposing any of the crew from hostile fire.
Another challenge was met and is incorporated in stopping
all types of 'Kinetic' ammunition and / or projectiles. A separate program to
defeat all kinds of road side IED's called THOR and is
described elsewhere below, has also been incorporated into the R-OWS (Remote
Overhead Weapons System) now found on both
the new Merkava Mark IV BAZ and the recently ordered into production the Nemer
APC (Armor Personnel Carrier) based on the
Merkava IV BAZ frame from NEW production. It was originally thought of using out
dated Merkava I & II tanks for this purpose
but,
that was found not to be a wise choice according to MANTAK June 2007 at the Latrun Armor Museum briefings. First batch
of 30 Mark IV BAZ tanks rolled of the Tel Hashomer line January 2007, 2nd
Rush
batch rolled off five months later & a third batch
rolls out sometime late 2007 (exact date not specified). These measures were all
brought about from 2006 Lebanon war findings.
Parallel Production was started in 2007 for Trophy
up-grade kits
for all PRE-existing Mk4 tanks with follow on for Mk III's and
existing armor APC's in both the reserves as well as the active duty forces.
This new
Up-Grade
kit is added on to the existing vehicle
and does include the newer Trophy II modifications described above. Orders for
second and even a third series production run of
the Trophy II's as well as first orders for the IMI Iron Fist were directed by
new Defense Minister (former IDF Armor chief) Ehud
Barak, which takes the Mk IV program & series out to the 2012 years. FYI,
No
Mk 4 was 'totally' lost in 2006 including the 1 IED*
*The
new BAZ suite includes four sensors - radar, friend or foe identification system
(IFF), Electronic Support Measures electronic
intelligence (ESM/ELINT) and Elta II, Tracking Incoming projectiles /
Communications Intelligence (CSM/COMINT) systems. All
sensors are fed through a unique fusion technique, providing continuous
cross-correlation of targets generated by all sensors, providing
automated system-wide tracks of targets detected by each sensor. The multi-beam,
electronically scanning phased array radar utilizes
time-space energy management technique facilitating effective, multi-mode
operations and coverage of 360 degrees using only four
planar sections - two in forward facing conformal arrays and two on the rear
turret bustle covering the remaining 180 degrees in back.
Further: BAZ an acronym for Barak Zoher or Shining Lightning for both Merkava 3
& 4 generation models;
the MANTAK people
say could theoretically be
associated with ANY Merkava tank past, present or future if they add the FCS
SharpShooting
features.
Therefore, it can't be ruled
out to have a Merkava Siman Aleph BAZ if a Mk I were put through this up-grade
program. The new
'TADIR' FCS when placed
on Merkava Mk 4 becomes BAZ only if this FCS is included & not just
Trophy or other improvements.
Just
to be clear.
The IDF plans to extend its fiber-optic high-speed broadband network, known as
“Gold Avnet,” to mobile ground, air and naval ranks.
The plan is to use wide-area wireless point-to-point and point-to-multipoint (WiMAX)
technology “to fuse information into a network
that allows the soldier to share information with a TANK or an aircraft,” Maj.
Gen. Ami Shafran, head of the IDF General Staff’s C4I.
The IDF, Ha-Kirya sources say, should be the first military in the world to
begin the use of WiMAX wireless technology by FY- 2008.
Here is an answer and Personal Opinion...
A Primary factor in Hezbollah's conduct in the 2006 Lebanon
Conflict is that
"Hezbollah
Does NOT Count Their Dead"
Furthermore, neither can the press since Hezies
Look,
Pass-For
and
Dress
just like all Lebanese
Civilians.
Heyl Shiryon Merkava Video's
CLICK Merkava History
VIDEO CLICK
Merkava Russian VIDEO CLICK Merkava
Mk 4
VIDEO

CLICK
MERKAVA #9
VIDEO
CLICK Merkava Mk1 - Mk3
VIDEO CLICK
Merkava Background VIDEO

CLICK
Merk Bad To The Bone
Video
CLICK
Merkava 4 Details
Video Coming
Blu-Ray WideScreen
Video
Mark IV BAZ
PS: You can buy this
GHQ Merkava 4
pictured above for $2 (₪7 ILS). But, it's the size of a thumb nail
!
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FISTS OF STEEL

Whoa dere, bridge out ahead, please slow Merk
down to 60!
| length=7.6 m (gun
forward=9.04 m)
|
series production numbers Mark IV 400 from 1999 - 2007
Second series now IN production
400 BAZ from 2007 - 2012

Playing Catch-Up. We now get 30 Mk IV's at a time, 3X a year, if we've
been
good !
| width=3.72 m (without skirts)
| height=2.66 m (turret roof)
| weight=55 tons (Mark I) <br>
56 tons (Mark II) <br> 59 tons (Mark III) <br> 60 t (Mark IV) <br>
58 t (Mk IV BAZ)
NOTE: Due to the incorporation of new technologies such as
Trophy & M-TAPS, weights may vary.
| suspension=helical spring

Black Mamba & Black Mamba 2 both Mk 4's are stationed on Syrian front atop of
the Hermon Plateau (I'm on right in ole floppy hat)
Web page is dedicated to all my corps men
stuck in the
cold, wet, windy, desolate & forgotten part of our world.
![]()
| speed=Road: 65 km/h (Mark IV); burst speed 70 km/h (Mk IV BAZ)
| primary_armament=1 x 105 mm
M68 cannon + 85 rounds (I and II) <br> 1 x 120 mm smoothbore gun + 50 rounds
(Mk III and IV)<br>[[LAHAT]]
& [[Excalibur]] [[anti-tank guided missiles]]


120mm ATGW
LAHAT
120mm ATGW EXCALIBUR
(Rafael Spike-ER family) Below is
LAHAT Round
Being Fired By Mk IIID

| secondary armament =1 x 7.62 mm
coaxial [[machine gun |MG]] (I-III) and/or 1 x 12.7 mm (IV) <br> 2 x 7.62
mm MG
<br>1 x 60 mm internal mortar;
R-OWS Laser/Gun combo see below (Mk IV BAZ)

THOR anti IED & M2 50 cal MG
R-OWS on Boeing Test Vehicle
| MBT Range = 500 km; Extended range (Mk IV BAZ)

| Merkava Mk IV Power-Pak engine=[[diesel
V-12 MTU 883
by L3 air cooled 1500hsp w/ Renk
Transmission
| armor = laminated
ceramic / steel / nickel composite (Chobham), RHA (Rolled Homogenous Armor), spaced armor +
a new classified modular matrix

LEGEND of Korea 1/35th Precision Scale Model from August 2007, Merkava Mk IV
Resin Kit (for the Advance Modeler)
Click Image for Walk Around
|
Merkavot 4 les
pusieran "BAZ"... derived from
TADIR Mk 4 FCS systems being installed Post
2006 War production
Please Note: Elbit
Systems, El-Op and Kinetics
collaborate on all Merkava Fire Control Systems from the Mark I to the
present day Merkava Mk IV
BAZ and the Mk IV BAZ is derived from the state-of-the-art Knight Mk4 'TADIR'
FCS.
This from the
manufacturer:
TADIR Thermal Imaging Sensor for Combat MBT now serving
with Tzahal forces since January 2007
EL-OP has begun deliveries
of the Next Generation FCS Merkava Mk IV starting in 2007. TADIR will enhance
the IDF's
Merkava tanks with
cutting-edge thermal imaging technology, that is the most advanced in the world.
ELOP is announcing
for the first time its
own home-grown innovative thermal imaging technology (TDI 480x4) TADIR. This
technology, that is
regarded as the most
advanced in the world, will soon be implemented in the IDF's Merkava Mk IV BAZ
tanks. The IDF's
development and
replenishment plan in this area includes the enhancement of the thermal channel
in the Merkava tanks' "BAZ"
SharpShooting
Fire Control System
(FCS). TDI 480x4 Technology (TADIR : Time Delay & Integration) is
characterized by
high sensitivity, improved resolution
& a
superior reliability level that ensures a maintenance cost lower than other
technologies.
A tank thermal channel based on
this technology will enable the tank crew to conduct surveillance & to
identify longer-range
targets in a wider Field of View
(FOV). This is done by observing a TV LCD Color display, that renders a HD
resolution image.
==Merkava Mark
IV Enters
1st Combat==

You're looking at the evening 'roll-out' for the battle at Saluki Valley in the
last hours of the war. The Merkava Mk IV's first Stand-Up
This Section Begins Below Under Entry for
the Mark IV series Merkava's
| crew: 4 (Commander,
Driver,
Gunner,
Loader / Radio Operator)

Merkava Crew: Tank Commander on post
waiting for Move Out orders 12 Aug 2006.
Reason he's smiling, he thinks he missed the war, there's only 48 hrs left. He
was wrong

Merkava Crew: Tank Driver under way at
controls
(Notice how the Censor has prevented anyone from
knowing the wristwatch brand?
Lighten Up, Just Kidding. Everything is
very bright inside due to the stupid interior decorator's crazy idea of using a
neutral color like WHITE. The dummy!
Now no one can get any shut eye (sleep) during a war or our endless training
exercises. Rule #2. Don't get caught...
Rule #1. Don't forget Rule #2... Guy below is practicing Rule #2... yup,
he's a sleep... again!

Merkava Crew: Tank Gunner at his station
(are you sure he's winking?)

Merkava Crew: Loader / Communications specialist next to 120mm Cannon breech
He's practicing rule #9... What happens when I throw THIS switch? Oops...
Note on Improved Merkava Mk IV BAZ
Seats by AutoFlug...
Crew protection has been employed by installing the
Autoflug safety seat systems,
to protect crew from side & bottom mine or IED
blasts as well as reducing stress and fatigue during long duration missions.
Several types of seats were tested in Merkava Mk IV BAZ.
The driver's and commander's seats utilized elevator designs, while the loader
and gunner's seat positions are fixed. So is the aft platoon
compartment arrangement when the Troop Transport configuration is employed.
However, seats are not part of serial production tanks.
Autoflug safety seats are also being considered for use with the new Namer and
various wheeled APCs under development by the IDF.
Note on Improved Merkava Mk IV BAZ Armor
(CHOBHAM)
| engine = 900 hsp (Merkava I & II)<br>
1,200 hsp (Merkava Mk III)<br> 1,500 hsp (Merkava Mk IV ALEF & BAZ)
ASPRO-A Merkava
Mk IV BAZ has production line custom fitted APS systems
built-in
rather than Added On

<!--
[[Image:Merkava mk ivbaz.jpg|A Merkava Mk 4 BAZ with new
permanent 2008 ASPRO-A APS
installed]] -->
| p/w_ratio = 14 hp/ton (Mark I & II) 18 hp/ton (Mk III, III BAZ)<br> 25 hp/ton (Mk IV & IV BAZ )
| resource = One of the best English
discourses ever set to print on the Merkava family is the 276 page hard
bound book from Erlangen Germany's Tankograd Publishing 'Merkava by Marsh Gelbart'
ISBN 3936519013
I treasure my copy as do many of us merk-tankers which is also in German FYI. Despite getting diss'd by MG!
I'm telling Helen on you BTW... ":-) and
YES, I'm a hell of lot older Marshie FYI...

2007 Merkava IV BAZ (FCS 4) returning
from
Negev Desert field trials being transported by the Merkava Mk IV
Prime Mover to our Golan staging area. It's almost impossible to find the new Soltam 60mm internal remote
control
3,700m roof turret Mortar! Trophy II
C
Add-On had not been installed at the time
of this picture was taken in 2006.
I know, this is my crew's damn Mk4 tank. Thank You. You arm chair dummies
look carefully & you will see FCS 4.
RAFAEL's modular
Add-On ASPRO-C
series was installed summer FY-2008 and funded with TEFEN program.

Above Mk3 DD & Below Mk4 A
IDF's MERKAVA
on its PRIME MOVER
heading to the Golan Heights from the Shizafon Training grounds

Fill her up... diesel will be just fine for the next 500 clicks...
Gee... a Merk Siman ARBA going into battle with a PAZ gas station sign on the
turret, how novel !
''TOCHNIT HA MERKAVA''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: {{Audio|He-Merkava.ogg|מרכבה}}, ''The
Chariot Program'') is a
series
of [[main battle tank]]s developed and manufactured by over 250 Israeli
and
100 foreign companies with main assembly at the IDF
(Israel Defense Forces)
Logistics & Armor facilities
inside the Tel HaShomer (Hill of the Watchman)
Army Base near Tel Aviv at Plant
#7100. The 'Merkava'
name was derived from the IDF's
secret developmental program name and was kept by General TAL (the
overall
Merkava program administrator)
because he liked the biblical reference. Also, because he sometimes
listens to me! Note on THIS military base that use to be called Tzerefin (Sarafand)
will soon be replaced as a
basic military training facility by a massive new installation South of
Beersheba called Ramat Hovav. First IDF
construction began in 2006 with an expected first stage opening date of 2009.
Merkava plant will Not move.

2007 Merkava IV B firing the new improved 120mm I.M.I.
APAM (Anti Personnel - Anti
Material) round in the Golan Heights
The Merkava has been designed for
crew survival and rapid battle damage repair thanks to an Israeli development
called 'Telescopic
Production'
and the novel use of quick appliqué modular
ceramic armor panels. The Telescopic Production method allows for changes
on the
assembly line at
the last minute, such as the installation of the 1500hsp
engine, which was not ready when Merkava Mark IV
tank production began in 1999,
but was immediately installed once they began to arrive, first from Germany &
only later from the US
GDLS (General Dynamics Land Systems) corporation two years later in 2001.
With the use of spaced-armor techniques and quick-
replacement modular designs,
the assembly line team was able to incorporate secret
compositions of a derivative of Chobham type
ceramic armor, RHA ([[rolled
homogeneous armor]]) and U.S. developed carbon
epoxy fiber
filament. It should be pointed out that a
further enhancement to
crew safety was the use of the space between inner and outer armor walls to be
filled with diesel engine fuel;
an excellent storage technique and a method to
defeat HESH and HEAT enemy tank rounds. The Merkava's unique
layout was
accomplished by the positioning of the powerpack to the front of the tank thus
increasing frontal mass while affording greater crew
protection. Then moving
the main gun turret towards the back of the hull for both over-all tank balance
as well as allowing for a
fighting
compartment strategy. This revolutionary
tank now had a rear compartment area that could be accessed in complete safety
while under fire by use of a double vertical door called a 'clam-shell,'
that when open, provided a roof above and a ramp below.

Shizafon tank range with Excalibur round
training under way
Now,
ammunition reloading could be accomplished without exposing the crew or any
of the reload teams to
enemy fire on the field of battle. This
compartment has
now been used as: a medical operating theater (Tankbulance), a forward
command and control center,
a UAV (Unmanned
Aerial Vehicle) control tower, an ELINT forward operating office, an
air-to-
ground FAC (Forward Air Control) station and a forward battle
field
command post. If this rear tank compartment contained
armed infantry, then
up to 10 fully combat soldiers could be carried & the clam-shell
door would
allow for deploying these soldiers
while on the move under combat conditions and taking fire. In an emergency the crew can use the
clam-shell door as an escape
hatch to safety on the battlefield, even from an internal fire. These are just some of the many lessons that were
painfully learned
in the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli wars when the Merkava was under
development from 1970 to 1977. One such lesson
from
the 1973 surprise Yom Kipper War was from Egyptian AT-3 swatter and
RPG-7 anti-tank weapons. These were all single
stage
war-heads which
were defeated by
the Israeli invention of the 1970's of RA (reactive armor) panels that fired
outward upon
impact to deflect
the penetrating enemy rounds.

Merkava Mk IV firing a 120mm
Lahat ATGW round at the
Southern Armor Training site at Shizafon
The lead organization for system
integration of the Merkava's main components is I.M.I. [[Israel Military
Industries]]. The IDF Ordnance
and Tank Workshops are responsible for all of the
final Merkava assembly,
which in the beginning were the old WWII British vehicle
repair
shops at what was once called Sarafand in
WWII. The primary assembly facility, "Plant 7100,"
was later built in time for the Mark III during
1988 and
is co-located in the IDF armor complex at Tel HaShomer just outside of Tel Aviv.
All new construction,
development, R&D,
modifications & up-grades to older tanks
is done at Plant #7100 to this day.
Other major LOCAL Israeli suppliers,
which there are more than 200:
IMI (Israel Military Industries) Locally
Produced 120mm Main
Canon

Look Carefully... New Trophy II Lite APS
ADD-ON SERIES
Installed
The Merkava Mk IV has incorporated an IMI 120mm Smooth Bore main gun that
can now withstand higher ballistic pressures and has a softer recoil due to a
locally
developed an ingenious more compact Breech than the first generation 120mm gun
found on the Merkava Mark III
series. Ever notice how much smaller the
Israeli
120mm guns looks on Israeli tanks? That is not
co-incidence, it's... Technology.
IAI (Israel Aircraft Industries) ELBIT Division

*ELBIT Revolving 10 Ready Round Automatic Magazine
with computer round selection choices
Microprocessor controlled, fully automated,
electrically driven,
120 mm rounds magazine. The system
is located in an
isolated space of the turret and is designed to protect the crew in case
of ammunition
explosion. The system is easy to operate from
the
crew compartment. Also, the tank loader can select
ammunition
out from FIVE choices and up to 10 ready 120mm rounds.
Urdan Israel Ballistic Steel Foundries Mine Roller
Systems RKM
IDF Maagach with Urdan's RKM-4 version of
Russian KMT-4 mine rollers, returning from engagement in the Gaza strip 'Hamastan'
Compare this 1960's generation anti mine equipment
with the Mk III BAZ 1990's below and newer RKM5 bottom of this web page

Merkava Mk III BAZ with 1990's version of Urdan's RKM rollers
*All Ballistic steel castings: complete Merkava Hull,
wheels, suspension, drive systems, gun shield, belly armor,
mine rollers,
bulldozer blades and the
turret shell as well as the
newly design bustle
is by ''Urdan Industries."

Ballistic Castings at only one of six armor foundry's in
the world at Haifa's Urdan Steel Works

Above is the 60mm Soltam mortar for the Merkava
Series,
This new Mortar went from the
2,700 meters range out to 3,700 meters. It's now Auto Fired & Targeted by the
BMS computer
*Improved 60mm Internal
Remotely Controlled 3,700 meter range Soltam Mortar is primarily
used against anti tank
teams & terrorist snipers. Rapid return fire is now linked to Rafael SpotLite.
REMEMBER...
Many of the Armor Crews are FULL time
armor assembly line workers and this
Merkava tank is the only tank in history to have been designed, built & improved
by the very same troops that use the tanks... Crews, Repair Teams and logistics.
*Electronic sensors, Infrared
equipment and targeting radar are all from I.A.I.'s Elta Division,

Business End of the Merkava IMI 120mm Smooth bore Main Gun up
very close...
*120 mm main gun
plus
all other ammunition is made by Israel Military Industries.
And BELOW we have the Action End of the 120mm Smooth Bore IMI Main Gun

Unlike many other MBT's there are 4 safety features that prevent jamming &
Injury!
*Ballistic Firing Computer and digital FCS
[[Fire Control System]] interface systems
from Elbit Computers Ltd'
(Knights MkIV Tadir SharpShooter
Barak Zoher System),
*Tadiran supplies the air conditioning, intercom and radio communications equipment,
*Optical peritelscopes and LWS (Laser
Warning Systems) is from 'El-Op, Elisra' &
'Astronautics' (who
supplies driver compartment equipment, actuators, electronics
and automotive
system integration),
MERKAVA Mk IV BAZ

Merkava Siman Arba BAZ / Merkava Mk 4B /
Merkava Mark 4 BAZ / Merk Mk IV BAZ with Tadir &
ASPRO-A 2nd Generation
APS
(now featuring an Auto Internal Re-Loader)
and
at the center top above the new Remote-Overhead Weapons Station (R-OWS).
TADIR FCS = Mark IV BAZ
2007 Production Series (TEFEN 2012)
*R-OWS (Remote - Overhead Weapons Station),
THOR & Trophy APS (ASPRO-A). is from 'Rafael Armament
Development
Authority,'
while the new redesigned turret bustle with the integrated Trophy APS was
developed by IAI and built by Urdan ballistic
steel works. THOR Laser will defeat in place IED (Improvised Explosive Device), EFF (Explosive
Formed Fragments) and the new
Iranian EFP (Explosive Fragment Projectiles). Also in August of 2007
Raphael announced M-TAPS (Multi Threat Armor Protection
System) which is a break-through technology of a new generation of appliqué
armor far more advanced than Chobham Armor which
is found on many US, English & NATO tanks today. It's a Hybrid reactive-passive
add-on armor that is designed to defeat modern
Russian, Chinese and Iranian tank threats such as dual and tandem warheads. It
is modular and very quick field repairable. It is even
effective protecting against IED, EFP and FSP including the Bushmaster high
velocity gun ammunition. It will be installed on Bradleys.
U.S. Marines will use it in all their 2008 and on-ward production of MRAP-II
vehicles according to the Commandant of the USMC.
This Section Begins Below After the Mark
IV Lebanon 2006 Conflict Entry...
Some of the more prominent FOREIGN suppliers are:
*GDLS (General Dynamics Land Systems), who at Israel's urging got the
license production rights from Germany's MTU for the
state-of-the-art 1500 hsp
GD883 V12 air cooled diesel engine
along with the RENK RK325 Transmissions make up the power
pack (which is army
vernacular term for a field quick change package of a tank power plant system.
For example the Merkava
Mark IV B engine weighs 1.7 tons while
the field replacement
Powerpack weighs over 4 tons complete.
A Merkava Mark III BAZ Up Close and Personal with Knights Mk III FCS

Business End of the Merkava BAZ 120mm Rheinmetall
Germany developed, But IMI (Israel Military Industries) produced main gun
BEEP BEEP, Move Over or I will place this instrument where the Sun Does NOT
Shine. Hezzie's co-operation is SO important.

Smile Partner or MAKE MY DAY...
*DARPA (via Jonathan Pollard) who
obtained the design details for I.M.I to develop and produce the 120mm XM-256
(Watervielt
Arsenal) smoothbore Rheinmetall main tank canon barrels (Now, I.M.I.
sells to Rheinmetall the Lahat 120mm anti-tank missile that
destroys
air borne attack
helicopters and fast moving enemy tanks with an on-board auto-tracker and slave
system).

Merkava live fire exercise firing I.M.I. Depleted Uranium (DU) 120mm Round
(talk about giving a headache)
*Motorola for the Tadiran
on-board communication encryption systems,
*DuPont for the Nomex and other ballistic and fire retardant materials used by Hagor tank uniforms,
*Russia Military Industries for
helping Israeli equipment designers with both the KMT-4 & KMT-5 (see
above) anti-mine rollers
(RKM)
as
well as the ABK-3 dozer blade, now all built by Urdan and even exported to NATO
countries including the US Army and Marines,
*Belgian Herstal FN for supplying MAG 7.62mm heavy coaxial and roof turret machine guns,
*Caterpillar who is producing a revolutionary Israeli designed tank track system,
These systems & others are now
being deployed on Mark IV BAZ
SharpShooter
version of the Merkava tank, now in
full production
with first
deliveries expected early 1st quarter 2007. To date
about 200 Mark I's were built, 550 Mark II's, 650 Mark III's and now
400
Mark IV First Generation. In 1999 400 1500hsp power-packs were
ordered and
in 2006 post Lebanon another 400 powerpacks
were placed, with
deliveries
beginning during 2007 according to L3 who purchased (in 2006) GDLS,
the German MTU licensee
in America. A 2007 Up Date:
all 400 Mark IV A's have been built and power-packs installed.
A RUSH order of
200 Merk IV's (now
BAZ) are now in various stages of
production & one IDF Battalion
or batch of 30 Merkava's was produced at the beginning of 2007,
a
second batch of 30
has been constructed & are under going field trials
in the Negev while a 3rd
batch of 30 are either off the assembly
line or just about completed by winter
2007.
All of these versions are full Mark IV BAZ with the new Knight's Mark 4
FCS Tadir (BAZ)
and incorporate well over 200+ modifications since
the first Mark IV
was delivered back in June of 2002. It is true that in a perfect
world and in Normal times we can expect about 60 units per year,
however... in the early years of the 2000's there was severe
military cutbacks and scaling back across the board which hit the Merkava
program hard and several times looked as though the whole
program would end. Only to be resuscitated at the last moment usually by
'events' which can thank Yasser and now Nasrallah in a
strange twist of irony. Because of the 2006 war and all the recriminations and
feedback there are now many crash programs funded by
TEFEN 2006 through 2012
that is now bringing about another side of telescopic Merkava production. Three
sets of 30 tanks at a time are now being ramped up
per year like never before and you can bet that MANTAK is taking full advantage
of this 'windfall' money before it evaporates... again.
Also
concurrently
early Mark IV A's and Mark III's are being now Up-Graded with
the new ASPRO-C APS Add-On
package along
with
the new
Knight's Mk4 FCS among other
systems to
bring them up to Mk IV BAZ 2007 IDF standards.
Note: Mark IV
production numbers above can only be extrapolated from the US based tank engine supplier
L3 & Not MANTAK or
other IDF / Official sources as that is Always considered sensitive information
and is neither discussed or ever disclosed... BTW.
NUMBERS (Merkava Mk IV):
Platoon - 3
Company - 12 Battalion - 30
Brigade - 90
Tal said that
he
"hoped to see 1,200 Merk IV B's
fielded by April 2012 Thanks
to Tefen 2006 Funding. That's
not necessarily a production line of 90+ units per annum
however." I'm
guessing here Talik is referring to new
Mk 4 BAZ turret, bustle and APS Up-Grade for older Mark 3 Merks! This would
allow for THAT dead line!

Undergoing Live Fire Negev field exercises
at Shizafon with
new 2007 Merkava Mk IV BAZ with integrated ASPRO-A APS
Compare Original Merkava Mk I Alef Below & Latest Merkava Mk IV BAZ Above
== Merkava Tank Series
History ==
Tochnit
ha Merkava (the Chariot's official development program name)

This is the actual
May 1977
1st official IDF released photo of the
Then
new Merkava MBT # 820001 Z
Note at the time, this particular angle was suppose to make the new
Merkava look at it's WORST!
The First Public Showing of the Chariot would be ONE Year later on Independence
Day May 22 1978.
One note here about this Merkava Mark 1
Alef bereft of all crew accoutrements, kits, stretchers, shovels,
tow cables, bustle baskets, balls & chains. As time passed and new Merkava Marks
and derivatives were
produced; these later changes, lessons learned from the field and instituted
during wars; all of the Merkava
family of tanks evolved & would no longer Looked, Performed, Resembled or
Handled like the original.
The story behind the above picture may prove to the
reader to be a real eye opener some 30 plus years later...
Dateline: HaKirya, Tel Aviv (Israel's Pentagon) by Hirsh Goodman JPost Military
Correspondent TUESDAY (May 17, 1977)
Defense Minister Shimon Peres (current President of Israel) officially
acknowledged for the first time Saturday (14 May 1977)
that Israel is producing a main battle tank called the Merkava (Chariot). The
announcement followed the unexpected public
disclosure in Washington D.C. by President Jimmy Carter of a most unusual pledge
of $100 million dollars of U.S. funds to help
initial production of a new Israeli domestically built tank on Thursday (May 12,
1977). Coverage of this signing was provided by
JPost Washington Correspondent Wolf Blitzer (current CNN news anchor). This, up to now secret
tank program is headed
by the Israel Armor Corps and by Aluf Israel Tal, a world authority and proponent
of armor warfare since the beginning of the
decade. Peres elaborated that the Merkava has a typical crew of 4 and can carry
as much as 92 rounds of 105mm ammo. He
also disclosed that this tank would be unconventional as certain lessons from
recent wars of 1956, 1967 and 1973 have made
the Merkava the safest tank in the world. If only a basic load of 62 rounds were
carried then up to 10 combat infantry can be
accommodated in a special rear compartment as the engine in the Merkava is in
front which adds to its safety design. The tank
will be powered by a newly developed 900 hsp version of the U.S. Patton 750 hsp Teledyne Continental
Motors engine. The
main armament is the 105mm canon now found on all the German, British and
American main battle tanks and is the current
NATO standard found in inventories across Europe. The new joint American-German
next generation MBT is not expected for
another seven years and would not be made available to Israel for at least
another decade after that to allow for both the US Army
and German Army to build up inventories. A factory especially set up for the
production of ballistic armor casting is the brand new
Urdan steel foundry in Netanya and is only 1 of 10 in the entire world capable
of producing ballistic castings. Urdan just recently
(19790
got a multi year contract that went a long way to pay for the plant
capitalization, to manufacture for the U.S. Army the
cupola for use on the US Patton series of tanks. The Chariot it was learned
Sunday (May 15, 1977) has completed field trials of
10,000km in both desert & mountain areas of Israel and passed with flying
colors. Full production will commence immediately. The
first castings of 40 tanks was completed in 1976 and it was expected by
the IDF to have first examples in units hands by November
of 1976 but there was a major hurdle with funding, transmission problems and
U.S. State Department licensing rights, As Usual!

Division Commander 1967 War
Deputy Chief of the General Staff IDF
Commander Armor Corps
===Major General Israel 'Talik' Tal===
Affectionately Known as the 'Father Of The
Merkava' IDF MBT series of armor fighting vehicles

Upper left 1970's Director of the IDF Merkava Project Office 'MANTAK' at the
Sarafand work shops.
Born 1924 the eighty year old Octogenarian (upper right) still can be found
each day on the grounds of
the new Tel HaShomer armor work shop facility busy as ever on the development of the
'Next' Merkava
challenge the
NAMER (Tiger, above) APC built around the hull of the Merkava Mk IV, Engineer ARV
Armor Recovery Vehicle, the unique Tankbulance or the next new Merkava; the 2010 Mark V 40
ton
Hi-Mobility class MBT! Speed in excess of
60mph, Laser anti-IED/EFP gun, all wheel drive & Smart shells.
Major General Tal single handily molded the Armor Corps into a Sharp-Shooting
tanks corps with one shot
equals one enemy tank hit. Ask the Syrians back in 1961. His command and
leadership of armor divisions
is renown. His tactics are legendary and are taught in every major military
school around the world today.
The idea, thought, design of the Merkava is icing on a distinguished military
career of 6 decades. This MBT
is not just revolutionary and unconventional but practical, sensible,
economical, Deadly and gives the Israeli
Defense Forces an UNFAIR advantage over all its adversaries regardless if their
equipment is the most
EXPENSIVE,
the Greatest or from Russia, China or even the USA. It has changed over the
years and adapted very well to
changing tactics, battlefield lessons learned and advances in enemy technology.
Nothing is perfect in the real
world but, the Merkava series has stood the test of time and it's Mark IV BAZ
will verify that fact once again.
For those nut cases out there in web chit-chat posts endlessly arguing Which
Tank Is Best might find it
very annoying that Aluf Israel Tal may have had a part in the development
of another tank, the Abrams MBT!
Surprised? You shouldn't have been. He was
already known to have helped the Abrams predecessor (MBT-70)
with vertical hanging armor skirts that Creighton Abrams liked so well that it
was ordered by Army Command. ,
In Honor of General
Tal's Contribution to the Abrams MBT Development, A Section
of the U S Army Armor Corps Museum is Dedicated to Him along with the Patton
Armor Corps Medal
Major General Tal being Congratulated by
Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi

Little Known Story behind The Legend of General Israel Tal...
HERE

Click Image Above for Classic Review "The
Tank Even a Jewish Mother Would Love"
Merkava Mk 2's on 30 unit 1987 assembly line
@ Armor Workshops


Merkava Mk III 30 unit 1994 line at the
Tel HaShomer
armor plant

Merkava Mk IV BAZ 30 unit
production line during 2007 with Mk2 & Mk3 Lebanon
Conflict
damaged tanks
under repair foreground above with a new Tadir Knight Mark 4
FCS and Trophy II Mark 4
BAZ tank finished in back.
While below is the new Merkava
Mk IV BAZ coming off the assemble line bottom left with more units in back on
the line.

All Lebanon damaged armor has been now repaired & the Merkava Mk IV BAZ 2008
production line is in full swing
Also there are now parallel lines for Nemer Mk IV APC's,
Older Mk III and pre-2006 Mk IV Merkavas being upgraded.
History of the Merkava series of main
battle tanks (MBT) dates back to the [[1960s]].
Israel realized that to defend
itself in times of
war, it
had to have unrestricted sources of
the major
weapon's platforms of land, sea and air. To be able to do that, a country would
have to have
the infrastructure to build and adapt those systems to it's own
specific geo-
graphical conditions, a technological base as
well as have a history
of
national-defense
industry. Israel could buy nearly any plane, ship,
submarine, gun and ammunition on the
world surplus market. However,
not a single country in either the West or the East was
willing to sell her MBT
during the 1940's and
1950's. It was not until the French sold
Israel tiny AMX light tanks for the 1956 Suez war did the IDF have any armor
capability.
Later when the British began to unload their WWII
style Centurion tanks did Israel have a
main battle tank. This French and
British
tank would be upgraded dramatically by the IDF
repair base
at Sarafand until it was not feasible any longer to keep fixing up 20 year
old
&
out dated technology armor. Israel still lacked the experience or
the infrastructure to design
& construct a
contemporary MBT
by 1960 that was comparable to any industrialized nation,
either from the
West
or from the Eastern. They would have to start from
scratch and they
decided to
build a 'Sabra' (Hebrew for Native Israelis) indigenous type main battle tank.
So you might ask, Does the APS work and has it been tested... uh,
duh!

What smoke Marshie? I don't seem to
remember you being inside this sardine can of a tank with us guinea pigs!
IDF EXPORT SABRA Mk I MBT
Design, Planning, Proof of Concept, Wood
Prototypes were begun...
Above SABRA series began after Merkava as
'conversion' kit for older existing tanks in inventory
Design started in mid 1960's but
because of Chieftain fiasco was delayed 10 years to mid 1980's
So in 1965, Israel set about to design and produce a 'Sabra'
IDF main
battle tank. However, fate would intervene
in 1966 when
Israel was
approached by Britain to help jointly develop & conduct field trials for a
new next generation
MBT called the [[Chieftain]] MBT. Israel agreed if they would be given the opportunity to locally produce a
variant for
the IDF and
so 2 examples arrived in January
1967 along with a team of British armor and
technical experts. The two
Chieftain prototypes were put through exhaustive
tests of their
performance in dirty, dusty desert climatic conditions of
the very hot and dry Sinai Desert. England back then, had hoped to compete
with Soviet tanks for Mid East sales.
But, during the 1967 [[Six-Day War]],
the technicians were briefly called back to England and the two prototypes were
hidden and stored.
But soon a second pair of 'improved' Chieftains arrived to begin more exhaustive
trials to verify the
improvements made over the first two prototypes to see if they held up under
the field conditions of the Middle East. This
time however, they would face the even harsher conditions of the cold, wind and
moisture of the barren Golan Heights
as well as it's notorious basalt rocks & bad topography. The first
2 examples arrived back in England
to be re-evaluated
The second two new prototypes were
tested not even 1 year when an Arab potential buyer for the
tanks put a stop to
this Anglo-Israeli
military hardware co-operation with the British Ministry Of Defense. However, many valuable lessons
were now learned by the IDF from the 4 prototypes and from the 1967 conflict,
especially the need for
more crew
protection and a new approach to an 'instant' fire suppression system as
burn casualties
top the list for armor injuries in
most of the Sinai and Golan engagements. Politics
intervened and in late 1969 England withdrew
from the joint
program,
because the Home Office and the Foreign Ministry was coerced with an
Arab promise of future
tank sales. That there has
since Mandatory Times been a bias within the British
Foreign Ministry of the Army getting
too 'chummy' with this Zionist
state, a convenient excuse was now at hand to stop this program dead in it's
tracks. It was
never the British Defense
Ministry which to this day (2007) still purchases millions of dollars worth of
IDF desert military (UAV)
equipment. The
two remaining Chieftain tanks
were then returned on a cargo ship at the Haifa port 17th December 1969.
Thus 5 valuable years were
now lost
in Israel's
quest for self sufficiency in a future main battle tank production program.
A sad
foot note to this chapter was
the Pentagon would many years later
admit that the British Foreign Office also asked
the US State Department to make
sure
NO 'new' MBT's were sold to Israel.
It seems, because when the
last 2 remaining
tanks arrived 25 December (Christmas)
1969 it was discovered
all the important IDF suggested improvements and
new
recommendations for Chieftain short-comings were not included and were missing, according to the AP wire
service back
on December 28th 1969. Why the nerve of those ungrateful Zionist...
! They are still laughing at the Pentagon BTW.
Israel then realized that it could
not rely on other nations to help her produce a main battle tank, it would have
to be done
by Israel's own
manufacturing base. General Israel Tal, began
considering a new Israeli-made and Israeli-designed MBT
and put
forward
on 15 of May 1970 a proposal that was accepted by the Israel Parliament
and funding, scouting for an
industrial base and native as well as foreign suppliers began. This
May date would then come to be known as the birth date
of the Merkava tank. However there would be many
set backs, shortages of funds and developmental
problems that
would arise. One of the worst would be the 1973 Yom Kippur War
just as the first proto-types were being approved for
funding. Also the Israeli High Command realized that they
did not have the human resources to withstand a war of attrition
again with
Arab neighbors. Now, with that conclusion, the Israeli government decided to initiate
at once projects related to
designing the Tochnit ha Merkava
(the Chariot's official
development program name) where crew survivability would take
precedence over firepower and tank
mobility attributes. So terrible were the tank crew
losses in both the Six-Day and the
Yom Kippur
Wars of 1967 and 1973. After the battles General Tal would shut down
the tank program & all
production, to
inspect, photograph and document every single armor casualty as to it's cause
& possible prevention. Because of this type
of
attention to detail from
previous battles, Israeli priorities were firmly reset to 'Crew First'
from that date (1973) forward.
To this very day it
has not
changes one iota in the last forty years of the Merkava Tank Program.

Here we see an excellent example of Lessons
Learned. Because in all tanks world wide; reloading has to be done through the
top hatches, many injuries, casualties and
even fatalities were incurred while tanks attempted to re-supply while under
combat. With the innovation of the rear clam shell door seen above the canisters
protecting
the 120 mm main armament ammo rounds are quickly and now safely brought on board, even
while under
combat without compromising crews. Simply Ingenious.
By 1974 the tank's design was
complete, prototypes fabricated and a temporary
factory (the current plant
dates from 1988 and the
Merkava III series) created
from
existing World War II
British armor workshops back when the base was
called Sarafand (Tzerafin
in
Hebrew). Work soon began on adapting these workshops into
Tell HaShomer
Ordnance Depot for permanent full-scale tank
production
over the next ten years.
Ten-thousand kilometer field trials commenced in December
1974,
first with
four examples, then
later expanding to six Merkava proto-types (all
of which can
still be seen today at the Armor Corps museum at Latrun, Israel).
Merkava
was
formally acknowledged among military circles for the first time during
March
1977 in the 'International Defense Review'
monthly magazine. But the
huge
Merkava
program was in dire need of additional funding. Aluf Tal (General
Tal,
Father of the Merkava tank)
then made a rare trip to Washington D.C. in
hopes of
finding an
American financial support source for his Merkava. The United
States Congress
accepted Tal's proposal & the agreement was enacted when
President of the United
States Jimmy Carter signed a
multi-million dollar
grant for Merkava development on
Thursday, May
12, 1977. Then the first official images of the Merkava MBT were
then
released 2
days later to the world military press, like the US "Armed
Forces Journal" on Saturday May 14, 1977. HOWEVER, it
would be a more memorable
experience on the Merkava Chariot's FIRST public appearance during Israel's 30th
Independence Day celebrations May 1978 in the Jerusalem University Stadium.
The 100 million dollars provided all the seed money for the mass production and
large scale purchases from foreign sources of components that allowed the
Merkava
program to go forward. It was THAT crucial. Interesting enough only 1.7 million
dollars was actually used for the new plant because war from the North loomed in
those dark days of 1970's and instead of making one or two more "pre-production"
batches of 30 tanks each to work out in the field with the regular IDF forces
all
the kinks and oversights that happen with a first model of anything, the IDF
ordered immediate 24 hrs a day around the clock production so that by the actual
date of
the Lebanon war almost 200 Merkava's were completed and in the field ready to go
to war. The new purposely designed final tank assembly factory, the famous
building #7100, would not be constructed until the first major definitive change
to the Merkava tank (the famous Mark III) in 1989 began production. The old WWII
British & Palestinian Quonset huts and dilapidated workshops of the Merkava Mark
I and Mark II would be used for follow-on maintenance, up-grading old tank
series from Korean & older wars which would then be sold off as Export. Soon
they began to get work orders from other countries for PM (preventive
maintenance)
such as the U.S. Army and Marine Corps European / NATO theater. MANTAK had come
a long way from Nothing to a full MBT assembly line infrastructure.
President Carter focused
world attention on this Israeli 'Black' secretive military
enterprise with his public
signing but, those needed funds
did speed up tank assembly so
that by 30 April
1978 the first production examples of the Merkava Mark I tanks
rolled out with
one of
them making the first official public appearance May 1978 during
during the annual Israel Independence Day celebrations at Jerusalem's main
university
stadium. A
Merkava Mark I rolled slowly out onto the large elliptical race track to
the
applause of many there that day, The four
IDF tank crew members were announced &
stood proudly up in their fighting compartment positions & waved to the crowd.
Then
Colonel Avigdor Kahalani
(tank hero of the '73 war) received the ceremonial 1st
Keys from General Tal on
behalf of the 1st armor group in the IDF to get the brand
new Merkava tank
(7th Brigade). But, then, slowly the rear hull began to open up
with
these giant armored doors in a vertical clam-shell arrangement & the
crowd fell
silent. They had never seen anything like this, including
all the
attending foreign military
attachés that were in attendance, could not believe
their eyes when ten fully armed
IDF
combat soldiers began racing
out on the
lowered ramp of the clam shell door and then
stood in formation in front of this
56 ton behemoth. All the while the complete
Merkava crew of Commander, Gunner, Loader and Driver stood in their tanks' now
open hatches. Fourteen fully armed troops in 1 Tank. There wasn't a dry eye in the
crowd that day. Me included! A new Tank era was born. Israel had just joined an
elite
small
group of nations to design, develop and produce their own MBT in 1977.

1st Merkava Mk I in
Feb 1977 at Tel Ha Shomer IDF armor workshops outside Tel Aviv (seen on
horizon) near Sarafand (Tzerefin)
Note: This Tank's Serial Number is 820001
or the very first production model. See First Released B&W Photo Above...
Also note the differences in detail on this model today versus the released
censored B&W photo by the IDF PIO office.
The IDF hand over ceremony would not
be until December 1978, when the first full brigade of 30 Merkava tanks began
unit training.
One
year later in 1979 the first Merkava unit was officially
received by the IDF as operational with 90 Merks. By late 1980 the second
brigade of 90 takes began training so that by the 1982 Lebanon war over 200
Merks could be ready. Some would think that ten years
was a
long
time for a start-up of
a MBT program. Others would have blamed funding problems
of 1973-1976, growing pains from
transitioning from an
economic based industry to a
military industrial complex, the many equipment failures with such a radical new
platform, the 1973 Yom Kippur
War did not help matters and would actually cause years of funding issues, then there was tank crew
conversion difficulties of going from a WWII tank mentality to a next generation
armor warfare that the Merkava would be the first in
the world to adopt arriving before the French, German and even the US next-gen
tanks, also the longer
than normal crew
training and
a whole new set of armor tactics that had to be
developed due to the new tanks shape, speed and capabilities found in such an
unconventionally design tank.
Further, the first deployed Division of Merkava tanks would not be battle ready
and finish training until
mid 1980's. Still, 10 years from nothing
(no money, no infrastructure, no experience workers, no existing similar
programs)
to full
tank
deployment is quite an achievement in the annals of
world armor history. Especially when you
think that in Israel's case there was
absolutely no industrial production located anywhere in the
country before the 1970's.
Everything had to be developed from scratch.
=== Merkava Mark I Series
1970 to 1983 ===
Only 5 Years From First Casting 1973 to
First Production Units 1978 On Display

First Six Merkava proto-types began their 10,000km field testing in 1974,
first
definitive tank 1977, first series production 1978 & IDF acceptance
June 1979 &
BTW, this is a plastic model of my first assigned Merkava tank.
Compare Original Merkava Mk
I Alef Below with Latest Merkava Mk IV BAZ

Rare AP wire photograph of Jerusalem stadium May 22
1978 Independence
Day Celebrations unveiling the first public showing of the 'Chariot' Tank. On
this first occasion the Merkava tank went on display, 10 Combat IDF troops
came out the back clam shell doors, while the 4 man crew remained visible.

Merkava Siman Aleph with new bustle basket but NO
chains prior to 1982 Lebanon Conflict
The Merkava Mark I was Israel's first home built
MBT that was designed, fabricated
and put into mass production. This tank represents a departure from basic MBT
layout,
the high degree of crew protection and the amount of armor
between the crew and
incoming projectiles.
Even the tank's shape and general layout of the Merkava is very
unconventional and most
unique among all the world's Main Battle Tank's.
The Merkava I was designed with the
engine mounted in the front and the turret placed
toward the back of the tank.
Most
remarkable of all however, is that from a 'prepared
position' the Merkava
series of tanks presents the Smallest front silhouette
of any MBT
in the world, making it the hardest tank to hit or even for the enemy to see
despite it's
great size and weight. MBT's
turret areas measures as follows: the USA Abrams
M1 is
1.17 square meters, British Chieftain is 1.55sqm, German Leopard is 1.29,
Soviet T-72
and T-80 is 0.90 square meters while the Merkava is only 0.76 square meters
visible.

Merkava Siman Aleph arriving at mouth of Litani
River beach assault 1982 Conflict
Even though the tank was equipped
with the state-of-the-art 105mm rifled US M68 main
gun, developers pointed out
that up to
a 120mm main gun could be easily retrofitted, once
NATO
officially adopted that weapon caliber & it's 120mm ammunition
became
available
to Israel in times of war and crisis. Both the Chieftain and the
Abrams tanks came with the
105mm main gun when they were first produced for their respective armies in the
late 1970's.

This pair of Merkava Mk I's are seen here on the
Golan prior to the 1982 war. NO CHAINS, yet!
The Merkava first saw combat action
in the [[June 1982 Lebanon War]] when 180 units in
three brigades (six
battalions) were
deployed. There, many battlefield issues would come to
light
and later be addressed. It showed a need for the 60mm mortar to
be installed
inside &
fired remotely, rather than outside the turret in an exposed urban
battlefield environment. A
shot trap was
discovered in battle under the rear
area of the turret bustle which was easily
remedied with a field installation of
hanging chains & steel balls at the turret bustle over hang.
The high-power typical tank Zeon
spotlight was removed as not needed nor wanted. Tracks
were modified and
strengthen due to their constant failure on Lebanon's steep mountainous
conditions. Unlike most MBT's in the
world, the Merkava could climb a 70 degree
incline, a
most amazing feat that even foot soldiers would have difficulty
in trying to accomplish. A more
powerful [[automatic transmission]] was also needed, as well as
an up-grade to the Merkava's
main braking system. Major
up-grades that were also
found in the Mark I's Lebanese conflict,
would have to wait till after the
December 1983 introduction of the
Merkava Mark II, for a
next generation
Merkava Mark III series in 1989. They were: an improved cabin
(NBC / air-
condition)
system, a pure water supply, an anti-helicopter weapon
system, a more powerful
engine pack with an Israeli built and designed transmission, a more deadly main canon, longer
or extended range parameters and even a basic
increase in the over all size of the tank hull
itself that would provide for a more comfortable ride in the most inhospitable
terrain.
Lebanon1982 Merkava I First
Combat...
Go
HERE
for Images, Stories, Actions & Battles

Merkava Siman II with Urdan MCRS anti mine clearing roller
system took over in 1983 during Lebanon 1982 Campaign
=== Merkava Series Aerial Deployment
===
Anyone Want To See A Merk Mark IV BAZ
Being Off / On Loaded a C-5B ?
Many arm-chair would-be generals would tell you
that one of the DOWN sides to a Merkava tank
has to be it's weight as that would prevent it's deployment to many of the
battle front areas in the
world today by aircraft. Well, that has not slowed down one tank, the US Army
M1A2 Abrams
which if I am to believe the manufacturer (General Dynamics Land Systems) is
about 70 tons, give
or take depending on... accessories. Well, they also had no problem on hundreds
of occasions to
have to airlift Abrams into the thick of battle in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Merkava tank can
weigh about 50 tons give or take, but due to recent developments
(like IAI Iron Fist and Rafael
M-Taps)
can weigh even less now. Ok, meister, show me ONE
example. OK, How about....

this case of a development model (shown here a Merkava Mark I upgraded to Mk II
standards) and placed
with the Czech Republic, France and above Germany on an exchange for T-80,
Leopard Mk V & LeClerc.
Later, to satisfy the U.S. State
Department, an agreement between Turkey and Israel that
was finally reached
in 2005 was that Merkava Up-Grades would be made to existing Turkish M-60 series Army tanks
such as:
engine-packs,
armor,
weapons and even an Israeli FCS system. Also, "tests have been conducted with DOD
teams over the years & All Merkava series (Mk 1 - IV) COULD be airlifted with
USAF active air assets."
Just Because Some Dunder Head Puts a $1.75 English
Sign on a Hebrew Tank... Does NOT Make It So

Not only are there NO Merks in service with English markings Model or Versions
but All Merks go through
Up-Grades constantly just to stay current even if they are like this old 1980's
Mark now on Museum loan...
EXPORT MERKAVA's
The Israeli government agency that is
responsible for military exports and their web site have
listed the Merkava Mk I, the Mark II and now the Mark III at
www.SIBAT & have done so
now for decades. However, sales are kept quiet and always been censored in the
Israeli press.
I expect Iran's northern neighbor Azerbaijan will not be the only recipient of a company of
Merkava's, even if for only palace guard duties
in Baku. SIBAT has no less than 5 request
on record in late 2006 for reconditioned Merks Mk 2 & Mk 3 which the IDF now wants all
to be replaced with the new edition of the state-of-the-art Mark 4Baz
up-grades & production.
Currently with Merkava Mk III's there is an on-going proof of concept to swap
out the turret
with new Mark 4 state-of-the-art electronics, APS, armor, GPS, WiMax, Ammo &
intel gear.
SIBAT has over 600 ex-IDF Merks ready for export as of 2008 if anyone is
counting...
=== Merkava Mark II
Series 1983 to 1989 ===

Merkava II out for a
parking spot!
What ignoramus said the Merkava was 'Under Powered?'
Where are you suggesting?
Tibet climbing the Himalayans?
Antarctica?
Maybe Laguna Beach?
FYI, USMC Abrams M1A2SEP did not fare well against
Merk IV's OR the Golan Heights BTW.
The Mark II was first introduced into
general service in April 1983 after the previous year's incursion
into
Lebanon.
Some (like Royal Armor expert Brigadier General Richard E. Simpkin)
have said; 'if it
were not for critical timing &
the need to get Merkava Mark
I into service of the IDF ASAP, that the
Merkava Mark II would have been the
1st
definitive production model in the hands of armor brigades
and that the
Mark I would have been just another of the
many proto-types and development
'mules'
that were used and field tested prior to IDF 1977 acceptance.'
World Armor Expert In Depth
Merkava Series Review
HERE
The Merkava Mark II included many new
upgrades & improvements because of the Lebanese 1982
Spring conflict, such
as
the focus on [[urban warfare]]. By adding additional 7.62mm machine guns to
the
weapon stations for the commander,
gunner & loader allowed increased
fire-support for dismounted
[[infantry]] along side the tank. Mark II
displayed
further improvements in crew-survivability: functions
such as relocating the 60mm Soltam mortar's firing station inside the crew
compartment, introducing a
new Israeli-designed & built Ashot automatic transmission,
increased fuel storage for
improved range
of 500 km (by putting the diesel fuel between the outer layers of the ballistic
steel shell which help defeat
HEAT warheads), by replacing a 5 cent
engine spring (this lead to the amount of time between major
engine
overhauls
from 100 operating hours to over 1,000 hours), as well as the modification & installation
of the
ubiquitous ball
and chain arrangement seen hanging from all Merkava rear bustles.
These clever
simple devices deflect RPG's and other
projectiles away from the
tanks shot-trap areas that all tanks have.
Various upgrades to the Merkava
Mark II models emphasized improved FCS systems. The new mast
for the
meteorological
sensors, crosswind analyzers, thermal imaging & night vision
optics, and the new
El-Op Matador 2 fire control system have
all been improved & modified. This created a new Merkava
Mark I-BIS series in 1985. Although the 900 hsp Teledyne
pack
remained the
primary power plant for
the platform (1200hsp still was not ready), an Israeli break through in automatic
transmissions designed
by Ashot of
Ashkelon Israel
was developed & incorporated
into the Merkava Mark II BATASH series.
= Merkava Mk III Series 1989 - 1999 =
First Merkava Mk III's to be deployed to a war was
Lebanon June 1989 straight from production line

Another Under Powered
Merkava, this time the
Mk III seen here heading out for some coffee &
donuts... Mustava
been a Monday!
This tank is IDEALLY suited for the environment for which it was built... The
Middle East. Not Europe you chat
room dummies.

Professional Precision Scale Model Merkava Mark III
by Colonel Fernando Galdiano-Ribeirao
Following new intelligence gained
during Israel's [[1982]] campaign in [[Lebanon]], the Mark III was first seen in
[[December 1989]]
with more major modifications. Among the many modifications
were major changes to the Merkava basic turret silhouette features:

West Bank Patrol for new Mark III BAZ April 2000, Note the New
Low Streamlined Silhouette Turret

Merkava Mk III Dor Daleth on maneuvers among the Daisies in the Galilee's Plain
of Esdraelon at the foot of Mount Megiddo (Armageddon)

Merkava Mk III Dor Daleth up Very Close indeed with the snow caps foot hills of
the Hermon mountain range in the back ground

Merkava Mk III Dor Daleth company up close with smoke canister container open at
the ready
*120mm [[smoothbore]] main gun
(designated MG-251) originally developed by Rheinmetall of Germany.
*1200 hsp powerpack for improved mobility & terrain handling (1500 hsp version was NOT ready in time for initial tank production)

*Special new type Israeli ballistic
ceramic armor suite (a local version of British "Chobham" armor). Above,
border patrol company.
*Solid state ruggedize Digital electronic communication suite,
*External, two-way hard wire telephone for secure troops-to-tank communications,
*Main gun stabilization system, which allowed for independent turret movement and anti-helicopter capabilities,
*Implementation of dual round
protective munitions containers for minimizing ammunition [[cooking off]],
*Laser target designators and
360-degree laser warning system (LWS),
*Improved modular armor system allowing quick replacement of damaged armor (designated Kasag).
**The modular armor is designed for
rapid replacement and repair in the battlefield and for quick upgrading as new
designs and
sophisticated materials become available.
== BAZ (Falcon) FCS
Knight Series Up-Grade Systems==

Merkava Siman III BAZ (HAWK)
SharpShooters series
laying a smoke screen for on board troops prior to combat field deployment
For the arm-chair generals out there,
we have BAZ units of every shape,
model and Merk derivative as it Only
refers to the FCS (Fire Control System)
that is being 'constantly' upgraded by Mantak
and not some dumb chat room
preconceived
idea it applies to a 13 year old Mark III's wandering around in
search of a mission. This 'Sharp-Shooter' version is deadly accurate with the
IDF Armor goal of 1 shot Equals 1 Hit and is just as deadly accurate against
armored helicopters as it is enemy MBT's. All else is... FAILURE.
Talik's Law
Debuting in [[1995]], the
BAZ Up-Grade to the Merkava Mark III
BAZ Series was designed with improved
Sharp-Shooting BAZ and
additional electronic systems...
*Upgraded FCS (Fire Control System)
Both Knight's Mk3 for Mark III
Merkava's and Tadir Knight's Mark 4 on the entire Mark IV production line 1999-2009
or 2012.
*[[Improved Protection against weapons of mass destruction; NBC]]
ventilation / air conditioning and heating / air cleaning systems.
*Locally-developed central
[[Micro air-conditioning]] system (this
was
revolutionary in tanks).
NOTE, all Merkava series have had A/C from
day 1.
(In Micro A/C a distribution system of flexible tubing pipes cool
(or heat)
air right into the tank crew suits for individual comfort.
Also,
since the Mark III BAZ units of 1995, all seats in Merkava tanks have
also
had an
air cushion suspension and anti-IED blast system installed.

2007 Merkava Siman III BAZ LIC (FALCON
FCS) undergoing
new Up-Grade at Plant 7100 including the new Belly Armor Pak
The designation appended to the name; Merkava Mark
X "BAZ"
(Falcon, Hebrew Barak Zoher meaning shining lightning), which
planners & engineers deemed
appropriate for a SharpShooting tank
killer
sniper platform with a computer
based FCS. It's now the most
advanced type found
anywhere. In the case of the Mark IV BAZ it's
Tadir beats M1A2 SEP as proven by one on one USMC Golan trials.
=== Dor-Dalet (Fourth Generation
Armor)===
Merkava Mk III's with Dor Daleth 4th Gen. up-grades on the
Golan Heights. Hezbo's confused these as Mark IV kills
The latest generation of the Mark III
class is the Mk III BAZ D or Dor-Dalet. The most significant difference between the
two versions
is the
installation of the ''Kasag'' modular-armoring system,
specifically around the turret area. Some of the other differences include
up-
grades such as:
*Upgraded and strengthened Cat-Tracs
(built by Caterpillar) and design by an Israeli. If you look at the
6 ground
road wheels
you will
notice
an obvious space between the rear two wheels and the
forward four wheels. This is so a 'Quick-Fix' can be done in the field to
rescue
disabled
tanks by shortening the track around just the first four forward wheels and
the tank will be still able to continue under
it's own power to safety. You can see this clearly in the next four Merkava
Mk IV photos that follow below. Look Carefully.
Merkava Mk III BAZ In Depth Report
-
Here
*Upgraded machine gun placement and installation of a remote OWS (Overhead Weapons System) with a Laser anti IED system.
The newer model also keeps many of
the previous modifications, such as air filtration and advanced NBC
protection. Prospective up-
grades
planned for this model include a
battlefield-management system (similar to the '''IVIS''' system installed in
the American M-1
Abrams MBT.
The system's deployment is crucial
to integrating individual tanks and allowing a central command authority to follow the
course of battle from
an individual tank level perspective.
==
Merkava Mark IV Series 1999 to 2009
==

Merkava Mark IV 'proto-type' from 1999
trials, proof of concept, now on display at Latrun Museum. A
2008 rumor has it that this Lebanon veteran was
1 of 2 IED MBT's and could not be
restored completely!

Aerial of Yad LaShiryon Armor Museum at
Latrun Israel, Click image for Link

These images above and below, show the
Merkava Mark IV with new features such as the anti-
ballistic mesh coverings such as on the right forward engine exhaust grill and
turret electronics
as well as a set of new Up-Graded side skirts for the Tractor - Roller assembly
areas on the sides.

I Forgot to say cheese, besides it was my Day-Off... ugh!
I
Just Hate It... When That Happens!
The Gap between the rear two road wheels and the front four is very noticeable
on this angle.
The Mark IV is the latest generation
in the tank's line and has been in production since 1999. It's production was
first
announced
in an October 1999 edition of ''Bamahaneh'' (In The Camp)
IDF military publication. It was then published
in December of 1999
in
additional publications such as ''Armed Forces Journal''. The 1999 articles
discussed many of
the qualities, features and specifications of the Mark IV version. Production
and ordering long lead items such as the
German transmission & power-pack as well as the necessary ballistic steel. This
was to be a major Up Grade program.
One Version Of A Merkava Proto-type

Six Merkava IV prototypes were started in 1996 and
all eventually were in the test program
The prototypes accumulated over 10,000km field trials by 1999. October
Bamahaneh
article
wrote that Israel placed an order of 400
US
GDLS (General Dynamics) now called L3 Land
Systems and their new 1500-hsp GD-883 power-paks
(engine & transmission power plant),
featuring the new German Renk RK-325 Automatic transmission, with five forward
gears and
two reverse gears. Note: that L3 Systems bought out all GDLS military
contracts in 2006. In
early 2002 the IDF asked NRG to video tape 6 Mark IV's being field tested. See
Video above.
Here New Trophy II Lite mini APS
ADD-ON SERIES has been
Installed to a pre existing Mk IV

Above, Definitive Dec 1999 Merkava Siman
Arba Upgraded

Since the 2006 war all the Armor brigades have been on
refresher, intensive training and mountain courses; here Mk 4's at Shizafon.
German MTU - US GDLS - USA L3 : 1500
hsp Power Pak
Now Standard on all Merkava Siman Arba (Mk IV) series tanks 1999 - 2009

Merkava Mk IV 883 Engine Only
Merkava Mk IV Renk Transmission Merk 4 1500 hsp PowerPak
License production by MTU of Germany to General Dynamics at their Muskegon
diesel engine assembly
facilities for export to Israel due to FCS payment restrictions & the technical
agreement signed by none
other than General Tal in 1997 on behalf of MANTAK and the CEO of GDLS (now L3
systems).
HERE, the 1200 hsp Merkava Mark III power pak is shown for illustration
purposes...
Merkava 1200hsp Power Pak being Exchanged Out during a Field Exercise
Above is the Merkava Mk III BAZ 1200 hsp
Power Pak during a field exercise. Total record time is 50 min flat. The
L3-883 Engine is 2 Tons while the total weight for
1500hsp field Power-Pack is now over 4 Tons. A Big difference.
Merkava Mk III Power Pak Engine Cavity Forward of the Crew
Compartment

Here Merkava IV chassis as ARV (Armor Recovery Vehicle) for field repairs
*The Merkava Mark IV main power pak has been
upgraded to 1500 horsepower and allows the tank to accelerate
to burst
speeds
of over 65 km/h and have a Military Power Ratio to Weight factor of 24.5, which is similar
or better
than
other current MBT's in the
world today. This
engine was pioneered by the famous German 'motor-works' MTU
as a supercharged
V12 Diesel air cooled combat
power plant. Israel' s Merkava
IDF office 'MANTAK' convinced
General Dynamics to acquire the license production
so that the entire
powerpak could be purchased with
the annual
FCS funds from Congress that had to be spent in the US on US made &
produce
equipment each year. 400 1500hsp
power paks
were first ordered in 1999 when the Merkava Mark IV production series starterd,
with first USA made
power pak models arriving not until 2002. Because of MANTAK's 'Telescopic' process this was
never a problem, this
despite the erroneous PRESS at the time of a supposedly German Boycott of MBT
tank engines that come from USA.
Merkava Mk IV in Lebanon Border position
with LIC Belly Pak Configuration




Notice how my Golan buddies will seek out shade no
matter how difficult to find, to stay a little cooler and little less
conspicuous?
![]()
Merkava Siman Arba (Mk IV) In Gaza Action
& etc...

Here Merkava Mk IV company on patrol in Gaza as
Hunter /
Killer teams looking for Kassem Rocket bandito's...
In this case a Palestinian Red Crescent Van (Islamic Red Cross) used as Hamas troop
carrier & rocket transporter.
Lovely.

Merkava Mark IV on Lebanon border patrol against nasty Hezbo's who kidnap,
murder, plant IED's, terrorize, etc..
Then wonder why they get no World sympathy or support from the 37 Moslem
counties or any of their oil billions.

Merkava Mark4 on the frontier with Egyptian Sinai, since their border with
Hamas controlled Gaza is now wide open.

Merkava Mark IV on routine patrol in Samaria against Palestinian Liberation Army
(PLA or PLO) & Fatah guerillas
with UN observation post, in the vicinity of their Mid East headquarters
complex at, Hill of Evil Counsel in Jerusalem

Merkava Mark IV on border patrol in Judea to stop 'friendly' Palestinians from
attempting suicide bombings by young
children (some under the age of 9!).
Very Nice neighborhood huh? Most are young girls BTW. Their reward; they get
their Mommy back... no wonder Euro's, flakes, Quakers and other imbeciles
love these poor Palestinians so much !
You May Ask the Reason for a MBT in above cases. Because...
it's air conditioned,
Israeli troops get to go home to families, it protects against IED's and
eliminates wounding IDF troops.
Here we have Merkava Mk IV Winter Syria Frontier on Station

1st WAR deployment for
Merkava IV was 2006 Lebanon Conflict
Now all 4 Merkava versions have now seen combat except Trophy
and even THAT is about to change with 2008 revelations in Gaza!

It would not be until the beginning of 2002 that completed Mk IV's
would be in
IDF hands. Usually 30 tanks would roll
off at a time and
about two production runs would average out during one
calendar
year. Since 2006 summer war all
Merkava production has been put
into over drive & will
hit 3 production runs of 30 units: 90 tanks annually

Pair of Golani Armor Brigade Mk IV's with Anti-Mine devices on patrol during February 2008 snow

On Patrol near Jericho West Bank 2004, Rear bins empty in LIC warfare, here at
the west side of the town's road approaches
Oh, & Don't Be Fooled Like the Hamas & Hezbo
Press, This Is NOT
A Merkava Mk IV, The One Below IS!

Merkava Mk IV shown in detailed at the 6 o-clock position and
ready for inspection and it's Commander below:

MERKAVA Mk IV BAZ

Here you can see the difference with a 2007 Merkava
Mark IV BAZ with full ASPRO-A APS permanently installed from the factory
200 examples have been rushed into production by MANTAK. L3 Systems, Renk
and Rafael have all confirmed Tefen Order 2007
Size: 9' Feet Height, 30'
Feet in Length and 12' Feet Width @ 60+ Tons
2.66 Meters by 9.04 Meters and
3.72 Meters Width @ 60,000+ KG
BAZ upgrades; Trophy/ASPRO,
M-TAPS & etc. can reduce 1,000's of pounds.
It is only with the accuracy of time
and hindsight will the real story of what happen and what went wrong, but also
what all went right
during this 2006 Hezbollah conflict. Some things are for
certain. A perceived deterrent by Iran against it's nuclear warfare program
by an Iranian Hezbollah army threat to Israel, has all been destroyed and now
pushed back by over fifteen thousand NATO troops,
French armor tank brigades and
German Naval warships. Many of the so called civilian casualties were in fact
Hezbollah forces and