Merkava Tank Developments

www.reuters.com

Israel plans first sale of Merkava tank to European country

Israel is in talks to sell its Merkava tank to two countries, one of them in Europe, in what would be the first export of the flagship fighting vehicle, a Defence Ministry official said on Thursday.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com

Some more detail in below if you translate. Seems to be Mk 2 or 3 variants:

www.ynet.co.il

מאות טנקי מרכבה ישנים בדרך לאירופה: כל הפרטים על העסקה ההיסטורית

40 שנה לאחר שנכנסו לשירות בצה"ל, צפויים להימכר מאות טנקי מרכבה מסימן 2 ו-3 לשתי מדינות זרות, ובהן לראשונה למדינה אירופית. הטנקים יצאו משימוש בשנים האחרונות, נשארו במחסנים - אבל לאחר תחילת המלחמה באוקראינה והביקוש המחודש לכלי מלחמה משוריינים נבדקו ונמצאו כשירים מספיק להימכר
www.ynet.co.il www.ynet.co.il
 
TomS said:
I can't imagine which European country would be getting Merkava. Maybe one of the Baltic states, which, like Israel, have almost no strategic depth.
Click to expand...
Wouldn't the Baltic states have issues with bridges etc with the Merkava?
 
I don't think so. Considering these are second-hand Merks, even the heaviest Mk IIID 'Dor-Dalet' with LIC kit can barely reach 65 tonnes at maximum combat load. That is similar to other main battle tanks.
 
Speaking of developments, one rarely spoken about is the Ofek derivative based on a Merkava Mk.2/Mk.3 hulls. While some refer to it as a APC, I tend to go with the command and control APC theory that I have also seen mentioned:

the-ofek-command-and-control-apc-based-on-a-merkava-mk-2-mk-v0-hrlpy21100ia1.png

the-ofek-command-and-control-apc-based-on-a-merkava-mk-2-mk-v0-cuvrdng400ia1.png

the-ofek-command-and-control-apc-based-on-a-merkava-mk-2-mk-v0-tfjj21hg00ia1.png

www.thedrive.com

Israel Unveils Updated Armored Command Vehicle And Will Give Merkava Tank Crews X-Ray Vision

Israel's new armored command and control vehicle is much larger than its predecessor and is likely to bring high-end networking to the ground fight.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com
 
I think the idea that the Ofek started out as a heavy APC but was eventually adopted mainly as a dedicated command and control vehicle is most likely. Early images lack the plethora of antennas on the newer versions.
 
TomS said:
I can't imagine which European country would be getting Merkava. Maybe one of the Baltic states, which, like Israel, have almost no strategic depth.
Click to expand...
My guess would be Cyprus. The rocky terrain of the island is very similar to the Golan heights for which the Merkava was originally designed. The swampy and heavily forested Baltic states would be less than ideal for the Merkava. So, I would guess Cyprus is about to donate its T-80U/UK and maybe some of its BMP-3s to Ukraine in exchange for Merkavas.
 
Turkey not going to be happy. Terrain wise, Merkava suit well in Cyprus.
 
GTX said:
www.haaretz.com

Israel plans to sell its Merkava tanks to Cyprus

***
www.haaretz.com www.haaretz.com
Click to expand...
More reporting:

Cyprus in negotiations with Israel to acquire Merkava 3 MBTs Main Battle Tanks | Defense News June 2023 Global Security army industry | Defense Security global news industry army year 2023 | Archive News year

Cyprus is reportedly in talks with Israel to acquire Merkava Mk 3 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs), according to information published by the Israeli daily newspaper, Haaretz on June 22, 2023.
www.armyrecognition.com www.armyrecognition.com
 
I don't know if the various news medias are recycling Mk4 pics, but it seems so far, its hard to visually distinguish the Mk4 and Mk5 at first glance?
 
Can someone remind me Merkava based BMPT-style vehicle from 1980s concepts pictures published in a magazine of that time? It had low profile turret with auto cannon instead of normal turret.
 
Andrei_bt said:
Can someone remind me Merkava based BMPT-style vehicle from 1980s concepts pictures published in a magazine of that time? It had low profile turret with auto cannon instead of normal turret.
Click to expand...

Sounds a bit like the later Namer RCWS-30 ...
 
The Merkava is cool tank. If we consider only Western tanks, then the Merkava MK.4, AMX-56 Leclerc and Abrams M1A2 SEP V4 are among the top three.
 
GregoryUSSR said:
The Merkava is cool tank. If we consider only Western tanks, then the Merkava MK.4, AMX-56 Leclerc and Abrams M1A2 SEP V4 are among the top three.
Click to expand...

With your assessment being based upon what criterion/criteria?
 
GTX said:
www.thedrive.com

Israeli Merkava Tanks Get Improved Anti-Drone, Magnet Bomb Defenses

The threats the Israel Defense Forces are facing in Gaza are significantly transforming the look of its Merkava Mk 3 tanks.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com
Click to expand...
I have to smile, for all the bullshit the Western media and defence analysts gave the Russians for their improvised instalment of 'Cope Cages' on their armoured vehicles, as a countermeasure to drone attack, they've become very popular all of a sudden, even by the vaunted IDF.
I guess the analogy of KISS still stands and let's face it, it's something never lost on the Russian military.

Regards
Pioneer
 

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