Posted on 11/20/2002 2:57:01 PM PST by yonif
The tank was rolled out in all it's glory at the Maintenance and Restoration Center (MRC 7100) at the Tel-Hashomer military base. The location was selected because it was where the tank had been changed from a collection of drafts and sketches into a steel "baby". It was the place where it had been molded from the thousands of steel plates into an impressive metal tank.
The following is an excerpt from an article written by Guy Zakhaim, published in the Technological and Logisitical Directorates' Magazine (2nd edition) on October 2002.
Commander of the MRC 7100 Colonel Shahar Kadashi said in his speech: "The people at MRC have been involved in the development of the tank for a very long time. They have invested in it not only their hope, but phenomenal effort as well". He added, "We definitely feel that there is an element of a birth process here."
Blue and White at Half Price
The price of the Mark 4 Merkava tank is 30%-50% cheaper than any other tank worldwide.
"The father of the Merkava tank, Major General (ret.) Yisrael Tal, was keen that the tank be manufactured by the IDF's Military Industrial corps so as not to be bogged down by unnecessary red tape", said Brigadier David Engel, head of the Merkava tank program. "Most of the parts belonging to the Merkava 3 were made in Israel as part of Israel's "Tank-Building ideology". The Brigadier added, "a large number of the workmen actually molded the cast for the tank's metal sheets with their bare hands". As a result of the fact that an "Israeli made" Merkava is cheaper, the IDF has stopped importing tanks from abroad, thereby making the IDF more independent of foreign aid.
"It is a great source of pride, national pride even. Lots of foreign representatives come to visit and are genuinely impressed by the plant. The MRC has almost become a sort of pilgrimage site and representatives from foreign armies visit us as much as twice a week."
As strong as a 'Tank'
The biggest difference between the Merkava 4 and the previous versions of the tank is that it has increased protection. Because it has increased protection, there are fewer types of ammunition that can damage it, including the newer types of weapons that have been developed over recent years.
Part of this "invincibility" is due to the fact that, like in the previous models, the tank's various systems double as defensive systems while absorbing damage that might otherwise prove fatal to the crew. The crew fights in a closed compartment that shields them from unnecessary dangers.
According to the Merkava tank program's managers, the creation of the Merkava 4 tank was the fastest ever creation/manufacture of a tank. "Generally it takes close to a decade for a tank to go from being a design on a blueprint to being on the production lines," said one of the managers. The Merkava 4 tank took only 3 years to produce, except for the engine whose production began a short time earlier.
"Telescopic Production"
The Merkava tank program managers attribute the quick development of the tank to a revolutionary new development method called "Telescopic Production". According to this new method, testing of the tank is concurrent with the production of the tank. This way, due to the changes happening all the way through the production, the first tank off the production lines will be different than the 20th tank off the production line.
... The Brigadier added, "a large number of the workmen actually molded the cast for the tank's metal sheets with their bare hands" ...Who else in the world would field a hand-made tank?
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Sure looks that way. Did they design it that way on purpose? Maybe there is an armor shield that fits over that, active armor or an armor neck.
How would you like to be assigned to take tank #1 into battle?
BTW I just found out that the M1 Abrams was designed by Dr. Phillip Lett whose Father used to be our preacher at a small country church.
Who would think a hand-made tank would be much cheaper and much better than any other comprable tank in the world?
Nobody is crapping on the Israelis, but there is an obvious exception here to tank design since the re-do of the Panther turret in 1944, so it is certainly worth exploring.
I think part of the Israeli doctrine is that they will have air superiority, and that they will destroy enemy artillery very quickly, so that is less of a worry for them.
I concur. There are several design aspects that put it in more of a light-to-medium tank class than a serious and competitive MBT. It appears to be optimized for dealing with APCs, urban areas, and older tank designs. Since they are not usually fighting against M1A1s, this may be a valid design assumption that allowed them to cut costs.
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