Combat buses … Israel is anxious about the life and health of its military. The country, which is located in the ring of unfriendly Arab states, cannot afford to waste trained servicemen, the most expensive and limited resource for Tel Aviv. It is no coincidence that it was in Israel that heavy tracked armored personnel carriers, built on the basis of tanks, took root. In terms of their weight, amount of armor and protection, these vehicles have no analogues in the world arms market. The palm tree in terms of combat weight and level of protection belongs today to the Israeli armored personnel carrier Namer.
The history of the appearance of the Namer armored personnel carrier
The Namer armored personnel carrier (from Hebrew - "Leopard") continues the tradition of creating heavy tracked armored personnel carriers, built on the chassis of main battle tanks. The predecessor of this combat vehicle is the Akhzarit tracked armored personnel carrier. The latter has been mass-produced in Israel since 1988. Akhzarit was built on the basis of captured Soviet-made T-54 and T-55 tanks. These combat vehicles were captured in large numbers by Israel from the Arab states during numerous Arab-Israeli wars.
The new combat vehicle was already created as a product exclusively of the Israeli defense industry. The main battle tank "Merkava" was taken as a basis. The first work on a new heavy tracked armored personnel carrier began in Israel in 2004, and already in 2005 the first armored personnel carrier, built on the chassis of the Merkava Mk1 tank, was presented to the military for testing. The machine was originally called Namera. Translated from Hebrew - female leopard, but later the name was changed.
Already in 2006, the Israeli army decided to start mass production of a new armored personnel carrier. The first armored personnel carriers entered service in 2008. At the same time, deliveries are made rather slowly, given the high cost of armored vehicles. Up to 130 units were manufactured in total. And in the future, their number in the IDF is planned to be increased to at least 500 pieces. At the same time, for a long time, no more than 30 such combat vehicles were produced in Israel per year, but in 2016 they decided to double the production of armored personnel carriers. In the future, they should completely replace the M113, which are still operated by the Israeli military.
The Israel Defense Forces received in the person of the new armored personnel carrier an excellently protected combat vehicle, distinguished by an impressive combat mass. The armored personnel carrier is almost 1.3 times heavier than the modernized Russian T-72 and T-90 tanks, despite the fact that the Israeli armored personnel carrier does not have a turret. Like its predecessor, Akhzarit, the new heavy tracked armored personnel carrier Namer is based on the chassis of the tank. From the "Merkava" combat vehicle received a chassis, hull, armor, power plant and transmission. The tower, of course, was dismantled, and a full-fledged troop compartment appeared in the aft part of the vehicle in place of the fighting compartment and the ammunition compartment.
The first version of the armored personnel carrier was built on the basis of the Merkava Mk1 tank, but very quickly the Israeli military switched to the idea of building an armored personnel carrier on the chassis of the most advanced Merkava Mk4 tank with a power unit borrowed from the Mk3 version. The resulting heavy tracked armored personnel carrier surpasses the Akhzarit in all characteristics: it is better protected from all types of threats, has better mobility, is well controlled and monitored, favorably distinguished by the convenience of the crew and the availability of modern information systems. At one time, the 1st Golani Motorized Infantry Brigade was the first brigade to receive the Akhzarit heavy tracked armored personnel carriers. With Namer, the situation repeated itself, Golani was the first to receive new armored personnel carriers in 2008.
Technical features of the Namer armored personnel carrier
The Namer armored personnel carrier has a classic layout for its class. The engine is located in the front of the hull, behind it are the workplaces of the crew of the combat vehicle, consisting of three people: the commander, the driver and the weapons operator. This is followed by the troop compartment, designed to carry 8-9 soldiers in full gear. To exit the armored personnel carrier, they use a hydraulically driven ramp in the rear of the combat vehicle. The crew leaves the combat vehicle through hatches in the roof of the hull.
The main feature of the Israeli Namer armored personnel carrier is the level of protection unattainable for equipment of this class. Built on the basis of the Merkava tank, the armored personnel carrier was specially adapted for transporting soldiers with the highest possible level of protection. The gain in weight from dismantling the turret with cannon armament was used to strengthen the armor of the combat vehicle. According to Israeli General Yaron Livnat, the armored personnel carrier has a heavier booking than the Merkava Mk 4 tank, on the basis of which it was built. The total weight of the Namer combat vehicle exceeds 60 tons.
This is one of the few armored personnel carriers in the world with anti-cannon armor in the frontal projection. According to Israeli soldiers, the armored personnel carrier and its crew will survive being hit by the Kornet and Fagot anti-tank missiles when they hit the frontal armor. And from the sides and roof, it is reliably protected from being hit by RPG-7 grenades. At the same time, the designers took care of mine protection, initially turning to the V-shaped bottom. An element of mine protection for the landing is the seats, which are made on a special suspension and are not attached to the bottom of the armored personnel carrier. Since 2016, all new Namer armored personnel carriers have been supplied to the army only with an Israeli-made Trophy active protection system installed. This further increases the protection and survivability of the armored personnel carrier on the battlefield.
An armored personnel carrier with a combat weight of more than 60 tons is driven by a 1200 hp diesel engine, similar to those used on the Merkava Mk 3 tanks. Most armored personnel carriers are equipped with an American V-shaped 12-cylinder air-cooled diesel engine Teledyne Continental AVDS- 1790-9AR. Engine power is sufficient to accelerate a heavy armored vehicle to a speed of 60 km / h while driving on the highway. The power reserve is 500 km. Despite its heavy weight, the armored personnel carrier has a good power-to-weight ratio of 20 hp. per ton, so the Namer remains sufficiently maneuverable and agile.
The main armament on the Israeli Leopards is the Katlanit remotely controlled weapon module (RCWS). Usually it is equipped with a large-caliber 12, 7-mm machine gun M2HB Browning (ammunition capacity 200 rounds), options are also available with the installation of a single 7, 62-mm FN MAG machine gun or 40-mm automatic grenade launcher Mk. 19. Additionally, a 7.62-mm FN MAG machine gun with manual control can be installed on the hatch of the commander of the armored personnel carrier on a special pin support. On the sides of the armored personnel carrier in the aft part, six-barreled launchers are installed for shooting smoke grenades.
A modern combined sight with a thermal imaging camera is installed on the remotely controlled combat module. As noted by the Israeli military, the installed thermal imager is a very worthy solution, since it allows you to recognize a person at a distance of up to 2.5 km. And here the scope's capabilities are already superior to the capabilities of the 12, 7-mm M2HB machine gun. This machine gun is already a bit old and is not the most effective weapon, especially at this range. In Israel, they are working on the creation of an uninhabited tower with cannon armament.
Namer acquired an uninhabited tower
One of the latest upgrades of the Namer armored personnel carrier is a variant with an uninhabited turret, which housed the 30-mm Mk44 Bushmaster II automatic cannon, which is today represented on many models of military equipment. With such a composition of weapons, the combat capabilities of the vehicle increase significantly. At the same time, the armored personnel carrier already claims to the BMP niche, while at the same time its capabilities for the transport of troops are not reduced in any way. The turret is remotely controlled and uninhabited, it has no crew, and there is no turret compartment and other systems in the body of the combat vehicle, so the useful volume of the troop compartment was not damaged in any way.
A cannon-armed model hit the camera lenses in early 2017. In addition to the automatic cannon, the turret is equipped with a 7.62 mm machine gun paired with it, as well as a 60 mm mortar, similar to those that began to be installed in the turrets of the Merkava tank, starting with the Mk2 version.
Another option for enhancing the combat capabilities of the Namer armored personnel carrier is the placement of modern anti-tank systems on the vehicle. In 2018, Israel published videos of Gil anti-tank guided missile launches included in an unmanned combat module of an armored personnel carrier. Their distinctive feature is that the launcher is hidden in the turret and rises only at the moment of launch. This placement option protects the ATGM from being hit by shrapnel from shells and mines, as well as small-caliber bullets and shells. If the crew detects a suitable target, the container with the ATGM simply rises from a specially organized niche, and after the shot is fired, it again hides in the hull.
