Merkava

There is this one quote from an israeli officer:
>It is not the best tank in the world, but it is the best tank for Israel
Which brings it nice to the point, there will be tanks that are better in this and that, but that doesnt mean it would be better if it would replace the Merkeva.

It's bigger and heavier than what would be useful for an expeditionary campaign, but that's ok since Israelis don't see that as a huge deal.

It flipped upside down a lot.

I think that's more a personnel issue.

Depends on what you're asking it to do. It's excellent for Israel's strategic situation, but take it out of that, and the design decisions that give it that status make it mediocre at best.

>It is not the best tank in the world, but it is the best tank for Israel
This sums it up. The Merkava was designed for urban asymmetrical warfare and to keep its crew safe from snackbars et al.

Would the merkava be better if it were more like the bmpt terminator? The 120mm doesn't really suit its mission well.

Because the news only focuses on Arabs, Jerusalem, and Gaza.
Less than half of Israel is desert.

>The Merkava was designed for urban asymmetrical warfare
I want this meme to die. It was designed for high-end conventional war against Israel's less-than-peaceful neighbors. You don't put a 120mm HV gun on a COIN platform.

there is grass here, but its very expensive

They are well-equipped for it though, what with the number of fiddy-cals they tend to be covered in

>what with the number of fiddy-cals they tend to be covered in
Literally 1 M2.

>Less than half of Israel is desert.
Arguing semantics. To someone from Europe sans a few areas in Spain, the semi-arid areas are going to look like absolute shit either way.

Because in any Israeli war, it's gonna be an Abram's doing all the tank fighting

>What's the Jow Forums consensus on the Merkava tank?

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It even snows in some parts.

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good enough for its job, driven by mostly conscript morons

This. Israeli doctrine is aggressive and focuses on pushing into enemy territory, but it's defensive nonetheless- meaning they always enjoy home-field perks like logistics and shorter distances, so it can even afford itself to be heavier than other mbt-s.

Plus coaxial.

Usually not on Merkavas (mostly on, by now, out of service Centurions and such), and it was something special and specific for the period of Op Defensive Shield due to it's unique nature.

Hey, I made this one.
That said, this things are more common than thought (though blessed be 7th Brigade, blowing up a barrel is quit an achievement). Even some of the pics in this compilation are training.

Not as big morons as you think, and not because they're conscripts (remember Israel's unique conscription system). Talk with tankers from around the globe and you'll find out that they suffer from the same idiocy, and on similar scale, as the Israeli armored corp.

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It's the most aesthetic tank ever made, but other than that there's not much to say.

That officer might be right. The Israelis wanted a tank that they could build on their own- they were lucky b/c a lot of the tech they needed to build their tank they could beg/borrow/steal- usually from the US. And b/c their army is small enough it's a easier to turn user input into actual product w/o completely fucking up the production line.

That said just b/c it works for the j00s doesn't mean it's gonna fly elsewhere and low production numbers means it's gonna be an expensive hooptie for any other army interested.

It's a good tank, but tailored only for specific needs of Israel and wouldn't do very well outside of the Levant or cross-border conflicts.

The new Mk.IVM with an active protection system has performed well in Gaza, making hundreds of ATGM interceptions.

Like 4 were destroyed in 2006 but no tank is invincible. A lot of Jow Forums tends to overreact and cast judgement (especially for Israel related stuff) forgetting there's no such thing as an invincible tank.

Its performance in 2006 wasn't even bad. 160 tanks were hit, 5 were destroyed of which 3 were from mines. They just were badly employed if anything.

Its APS has been used a shitton of times with 100% success rate, which is pretty impressive

>The 120mm doesn't really suit its mission well.

>kills everything with low error

nope, sounds fine to me.

Israel is developing its own terminator anyway. It's putting 35mm and 8 ATGM's onto T-55 chassis'

I don't think they do.

Man, I hate my brigade, but I love the mk.4m...

Have any cool stories?

Depends. How much are you willing to pay?

>Posts physical map
>Thinking green is grass
Amerimutt "education".

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A fuck. To listen to your stories.

Bids starting at six gorillion!

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But under what season is that pic taken?

>There is actual grass in Israel?

How can you have an opinion on a country's tank when you don't know what the country even looks like to begin with?

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Poland horse defenses are shit. I dont need to know what poland looks like.

>What's the Jow Forums consensus on the Merkava tank?

can kill anything it is likely to encounter fielded by arabs, Israelis have substantial armour experience and know what they are at

>Poland horse defenses are shit. I dont need to know what poland looks like.

Put the vodka down Ivan, your squat is wobbley

Definitely a good question. Also Israel is pretty grassy in quite a few areas since it isn't owned by muzzies.
(I swear to god they don't take care of anything.
My neighbor's are great examples, literally every flower and fruit tree planted by previous owners is dead now.)

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How are the abilities of a horse and a tank comparable?

visibleearth.nasa.gov/view.php?id=65114