Al Jazeera documentary about Israeli's Merkava tank.
Seems to be quite well done and balanced with interviews from all sites of the conflicts.
For those who are getting a heart attack simply by hearing that this is an Al Jazeera production just skip this thread and save yourselves the flamming.
Five Parts:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
This movie is about general Israeli military history and politics from Merkava perspective. Not too much BS, but it's just not about Merkava tank. If you are expecting to see detailed Merkava coverage regarding its capabilities, armament etc(e.g. Discovery channel style), you will be disappointed - I was.
Always a paragraph from you..Originally Posted by IDF_TANKER
I'm afraid I don't understand. Do you want me to write two paragraphs?
Not a bad documentary.
Could be considered a little anti-Israeli, but not too bad.
x2, what IDF TANKER said.
Ok,
Very nice review about big historical facts and all, but as a good documentary about tanks or military weapon this program is worth to ****.
Why?
Well, because it tells us that using tanks or any other military machine, even say military might is wrong, typical lefty type of program, specialy for Al Jazeera.
Although i would say that i agree with some of the points presented in this video, some of the basic doctrines and methods are wrong in some scenarios.
Anyway, thanks for the post afreu.
so is it better than the abrams? to me it looks like the same "class"...
sorry I'm no big expert when it comes to tanks.
its very intersting, and I can see when an average Al-Jazeera viewer would find it so interesting, but I'd harly call it a documentry, since so many of the detailes in it were wrong. (the crew of first tank that was blown up in Gaza wasnt all killed - only its driver, and the Last tank that thay show (where stuff doesnt grow anymore) wasnt a Merkava, but a Magach7 (upgraded M60 with an M48 turret)).
there are similar stories and in the Israeli media about the essentiality of an Israeli made tank, argument that the tank is a thing of the past and there no need for it in ourdays. they always come in short, just like in this "documentary". there is no alternative to the tank in the battlefirld and even though its vulnerable to today's missles, things might change when there's a technological advancement in armor protection, just like there was after the introduction of the anti-tank missiles in the 1970's (yeah, I know ERA was invented earlyer, but it unly came to real use in the 70's).
the criticism in Israel is not against the tank, but on the high ranking command of the army, and ofcource, the goverment which has a record breaking low approval percentage.
in a comparison to past wars, the new Merkava models proved to be much safer compared to the tanks that were used in 1982 and if it wasnt for them, losses would probebly be much higher. the demand now is for more training for the army (something that lacked in the past years) and for active protection against ATGM's. I'v seen the footage from yesterday's assault of IDF's forces into gaza and it the first time I see some decent smoke screening in years.
the last summer's war might seem like a divine victory to some, but it also was a wakeup call for the IDF, the goverment and specially for the Israeli public for a relatively low price.
what I think is amazing is that the Merkava has become the symbol of the Israeli military strength in the Arab people's eyes, when the IDF's main advantage over its rivals is its airforce. maybe there's an intimidating element in the fact that its created by Israel, unlike its planes, subs and ships.
its a Main battle tank, like the abrams but with some different characteristics.
x2
In general, it's very hard(if not impossible) to define what is "better" when it comes to tanks (as other types of arms). Merkava is just one of the modern most advanced tanks, with some of its parameters better than others and other - worse... But most importantly it's especially suited for our needs and doctrine, therefore it is the best tank for IDF.
Considering extremely good side armor (maybe a the cost of weaker front armor), better anti-mine protection, integrated mortar, strengthened turret roof, video system, APC-capability etc it should be the best tank for anti-insurgent warfare.
Drawbacks of Merkava are size, weight and incompatibility with most transportation systems which aren't a problem for Israel but important for larger countries.
BTW: What's the status of LAHAT and Trophy?
about the Lahat:
http://www.defense-update.com/directory/lahat.htm
US Army Plans Testing of Lahat Laser Guided missiles on Hunter UAVs http://www.defense-update.com/news/6702lahat.htm
trophy:
http://www.defense-update.com/products/t/trophy.htm
April 2007: The development of the Trophy Active Protection System has been completed, including integration of the system into current AFVs as well as the introduction of reloading systems, positioning the Isaeli active protection system as the first available system in the West. Initial systems are expected to go into new production and currently deployed Merkava tanks as well as the new Merkava based armored Infantry Fighting Vehicles (Namer). While the system has been approved for production, which still awaits funding allocation.
an article from last month's Yedion Aharonot paper said that "soon", the Merkava mk4 tanks will be fitted with the trophy.
link to a scan of the article (in Hebrew)
While we have some "people in the know" at hand.
This image was posted on another forum accompanied by a lot of misinformation and second-guessing as to the tank's actual fate. Some speculated that it was knocked out by RPG fire, some believed it had merely rolled down the embankment. No certain conclusion was reached.
It's undoubtedly been posted here before, but I couldn't find it or the thread to assist me in this matter. Gentlemen?
Click for full size
First, it is not Merkava, it is Magach-7 tank. Second, it was an accident - as you said, it rolled down the embankment.While we have some "people in the know" at hand.
This image was posted on another forum accompanied by a lot of misinformation and second-guessing as to the tank's actual fate. Some speculated that it was knocked out by RPG fire, some believed it had merely rolled down the embankment. No certain conclusion was reached.
It's undoubtedly been posted here before, but I couldn't find it or the thread to assist me in this matter. Gentlemen?
Click for full size
I don't understand the RPG version - do you see the fire marks anywhere? And since when an RPG hit makes a tank to roll over?
(not to mention that RPG is not a threat to this tank).
I pitty the poor driver or Tank commander who has to explaine how this happened.
View Profile
View Forum Posts
Private Message
Reply With Quote
