Merkava 4 - battleship of the desert

The Israeli tank Merkava 4, ideally suited for fighting in the desert, is perhaps the most original and unusual combat vehicle in the world history of tank building. Israel itself considers it to be its national pride, the highest achievement of military engineering thought and a clear demonstration of the power and invincibility of Israeli weapons. Many Western observers and experts believe that, in terms of their technical characteristics, the Merkava series machines are superior even to the German "Leopards" and Russian T-90s.

To date, the Merkava 4, whose characteristics and design features have many similarities to the previous machines of the series, is the most advanced tank of this family. This is confirmed by experts. You can even say that it is the crown and culmination of Israeli tank construction. From its predecessors, Merkava 4 is marked by a sharply reinforced modular armor, which fully corresponds to both the Israeli tank doctrine and the entire military strategy of the state, which exists in an initially hostile Arab environment and under conditions of very limited human resources. In this regard, the protection of the crew became the main task of the designers of this armored "war chariot".

The main similarity with the previous models of the series was the extremely unusual layout of the Merkava 4 tank. A characteristic feature of all machines in this series is the tower, which is closer to the stern, and the location of the engine in the front (nasal) part. These are the signs that have already become the calling card of this battleship of the desert and can instantly identify it visually.

As mentioned above, the optimization of combat losses for a small but very warlike Israel will always be in the first place. Therefore, when creating the "Merkava 4" tank, the firepower and driving qualities have retreated, and the main focus was exclusively on the safety of the crew. This is the reason for such unusual design decisions in terms of the layout of the machine and its protection.

In comparison with the previous models of this noble tank family, all units and units of Merkava 4 were upgraded and modernized in full accordance with the spirit of the times, modern technologies and trends in the development of tank strategies.

But nevertheless, despite the stressed and touching care of Israeli tank designers about the safety and life of their servicemen, they also remembered that Merkava 4 is primarily a battle tank. Therefore, its combat power was strengthened by installing a smooth-bore 120mm gun. A similar gun was equipped with a previous model - Merkava 3. But now the speed of the projectile and the accuracy of the fire have increased significantly. But this increase in firepower was not the only innovation - this machine was equipped with a modern missile system LAHAT. According to Israeli military officials, such missiles are capable of effectively hitting not only ground targets, but also air targets.

Due to its patency and high-speed qualities, Merkava 4 can compete with American gas turbine Abrams. These are all, of course, very important advantages, but the most important thing is hidden from prying eyes inside the machine. The seats of all the crew members are equipped with an integrated flat color monitor, which is the terminal of the newest combat coordination and control system. This electronic system turns the whole army into a single organism, connecting the commander of the crew with the global information network of the Armed Forces of Israel. The monitor continuously receives information about the enemy and the deployment of units of the Israeli army. The mechanic, with the help of a complex video system, can see his tank from any angle. In addition, this ultra-modern "war chariot" is equipped with the newest infrared surveillance system, which in combination with a ballistic computer allows you to control the situation even in zero visibility conditions.