the chain-ball skirting 'splains a lot. Also, with those better pix I can see that what I thought was rubber skirting is not. I like the M1A2. I like this even better as the slope on the armor is a REAL winner. I am having a hard time conceiving of what type of anti-tank round would be able to dig a hole in that; sharp-edged discarding sabot D.E. maybe? I would imagine that it would just hit and flip off but I could be wrong. The Merkava also doesn't have the turret bustle/long barrel overhang that the Abrahms does. Heck the Germans knew the disadvantages of that clear back before WWII: It doesn't work well in urban warfare. Looks like the Merkava held that lesson. I wonder about the accuracy of the shorter barrel though. Either way, I'd love to have one for commuting into L.A. at least once.
Man a MBT would sure solve the parking problem.