In the rating of the leaders of the world tank building, annually compiled by the authoritative American military analytical agency Forecast International, the Israeli Merkava Mk4 tank takes the leading place, surpassing in its combat characteristics such serious competitors as the German Leopard tank or the Russian T-90. The Merkava is considered by many experts to be the best main battle tank in the world.
The history of its creation is inextricably linked with the name of the legendary Israeli tanker General Israel (Talik) Tal. General Tal is rightfully considered the founding father of the IDF's armored forces, under his command, tankers invariably achieved victories on the battlefield in all Israel's wars. His portrait is in the Grand Armored Generals Hall at the General Patton Tank Forces Center in Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Israel Tal was born in 1924 in Eretz Israel into a family of immigrants from Russia. He began his military service in 1942, when, along with many young Zionists, he volunteered to join the British army, which was liberating Europe from the Nazis. The Israeli War of Independence marked the beginning of Tal's military career in the IDF. He fought in the infantry and tank units, was the head of officer courses, during the Sinai campaign he was appointed deputy commander of a tank corps and commander of the 7th armored brigade. In the Six Day War, he commanded the 162nd Panzer Division. During the 1973 war, General Tal met with the rank of Chief of Operations Directorate and Deputy Chief of General Staff, at its final stages he commanded the Southern Front.
Analyzing the results of the tank battles of the Sinai Campaign and the Six Day War, General Tal came to the conclusion that none of the tanks, be it the American M48 or the British Centurion, met the requirements of the Israeli tank doctrine. The Israeli army needed a completely new combat vehicle that most fully corresponded to the theater of operations and the combat experience of Israeli tankers.
The project to create a new Israeli tank was approved in August 1970 and entrusted to a group of tank officers led by General Tal. The main emphasis, along with firepower and maneuverability, was placed on the maximum protection of the crew members: even if the tank is completely disabled, the crew must survive. Statistics showed that in the event of a detonation of ammunition, the crew, as a rule, died. This means that the crew members and ammunition should be covered to the maximum extent with armor.
The Israeli tank is fundamentally different in layout from all foreign vehicles built according to the classical scheme, first used by French tank builders (Reno FT-17, 1916) - in front of the control compartment, in the middle - the combat compartment, in the back - the engine compartment. In an Israeli tank, the engine is located in front, serving as a kind of additional protection for the crew, since most of the shells fall into the frontal projection.
The design was carried out at a high pace, despite the fact that initially only 35 people participated in it. All bureaucratic delays were minimized largely thanks to Tal himself and the closest cooperation between the military and designers.
The Israeli tank industry was developing rapidly, today more than 200 Israeli industrial companies are engaged in the project, producing most of the tank's components - from armored steel and artillery pieces to high-precision electronic and computer equipment.
The implementation of General Tal's ideas contributed to the creation of a heavy (63 tons) vehicle with powerful armor protection in the front and a spacious fighting compartment. The fighting compartment is used to transport troops and property, and provides for the evacuation of the wounded from the battlefield. Much attention is paid to the convenience of the tankers. The designers proceeded from the postulate “the tank is the home of the crew in wartime”. Tal proposed the concept of round-the-clock use of the tank, for which it was planned to place two crews in one car - one is resting, the other is at war.
But what about the "Merkava"? Six battalions armed with tanks of this type (about 200 units in total) took part in Operation Peace for Galilee. They were equipped with the 75th, 77th and 82nd battalions of the 7th tank brigade, the 126th and 429th battalions of the 211st tank brigade, and the 198th battalion of the 460th tank brigade. In addition, the 844th Tank Training Brigade had about two companies of Merkava vehicles.
The fight that never happened
General Tal gave the new tank the name "Merkava" ("war chariot"). This word came from TANAKH, it is also mentioned in the first chapter of the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel as a symbol of movement, power and a stable foundation.
For the first time, information that Israel was developing a new tank appeared in 1972, and in the spring of 1977, Israeli television showed a novelty, after which the pictures taken from the TV screen went around the pages of many military publications. At the same time, information appeared about the production of a trial batch of 40 cars. In October 1978, the first Merkava Mk1 tank was officially transferred to the troops. The command of one of the first battalions, equipped with "Merkavas", was taken over by the son of General Tal. The official presentation of the tank took place during the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to the tank plant of the Israeli military-industrial corporation Israel Military Industries.
Since then, the Merkava project has been continuously improved, four generations of tanks have already left the conveyor lines of Israeli factories - the Merkava Mk4 was put into service in 2004.
Israeli designers in each new generation of the Merkava tank embody absolutely new revolutionary ideas in tank building: the hull is made from a single casting, the "modular armor" is fastened with special bolted joints. The principle of "active armor" was first implemented in the world in the Merkava tank. The tank is equipped with a fully computerized control system, developed using original technologies and having no analogues in the world.
The operation in Lebanon last summer once again confirmed the high combat qualities of the Merkava tank. Hezbollah fighters fired about 1,000 Russian-made missiles at Israeli tanks, damaged 52 tanks, of which 22 vehicles received penetrating damage, mostly of old modifications (Merkava Mk2 and Merkava Mk3, produced in the 1980s). Only five cars were irretrievably lost. Most of the damaged tanks returned to service after repairs during the operation in Lebanon.
These statistics indicate that the Merkava tanks, equipped with modern means of protection, especially the latest modification of the Mk-4, coped well with the missile threat - the effectiveness of Russian ATGMs and ATGMs fired at Israeli tanks in terms of destroyed tanks was only 0.5 %.
The losses in tanks during the fighting in Lebanon were carefully analyzed by the command. The IDF will become the first army in the world to equip all serial Merkava Mk4 tanks with the Meil Ruach (Air Cloak) active protection system developed by the Israeli defense industry concern RAFAEL based on the Trophy project.
The Trophy system of active protection of armored vehicles and acoustic detection of snipers has undergone numerous tests and improvements over the past 10 years and is currently considered the most effective in the world. It is designed to destroy missiles and projectiles in flight, forms an invisible shield around the tank, automatically detecting and destroying everything that moves in its direction.
General Tal, 83, is still in the ranks. After retiring, he was appointed advisor to the Chief of the General Staff and a leading expert in Israel's military industry. The opinion of the Israeli "tank guru" is highly valued throughout the tank world.
