In the 2006 battle for Lebanon, Israel successively put into use 4 Merkava main battle tanks, according to post-war statistics, the Israeli army was hit by thousands of anti-Tanan rockets, but only 6 were penetrated, 18 were heavily damaged, and 2 were completely destroyed.
On a completely scrapped Merkava-type tank, there were actually four people who ran out of it intact.
This battle created an "undefeated myth" for the Merkava chariot, which is known as the safest chariot in the world, however, is this really the case?
This armor is amazing.
In some respects, the Merkava tank is undoubtedly the safest, and its defensive performance can be said to be world-class, even for the main tanks of China, the United States and Russia.
Merkava's armor is ranked first, Merkava No. 3 has the best armor protection, and its latter models are mainly armor-based.
As a rule, the top, edges and front armor of the combat vehicle are the most vulnerable places, especially the top, which is the most likely to be hit by anti-tank missiles, which is called "opening the can".
However, just increasing the thickness of the armor does not have much effect, and will even drag down the opponent.
Due to the presence of heavy armor, its ability to move will be greatly limited, which will cause certain obstacles to the subsequent battle lines.
Therefore, Israel has put a lot of effort into materials and structures, creating a new and powerful composite armor, like the combat qualities of the Merkava tank.
The Merkava-3 has a combat mass of 65 tons, which is just over 10 tons short of the German "Leopard 2".
Externally, the device uses a construction called "isolation", which simply means that layers of shell are divided and specific materials are added to each layer to cope with the danger from all levels.
Moreover, while penetrating a layer of defensive armor, the unique hollow structure inside also plays a good role in cushioning.
Therefore, after some anti-tank missiles penetrate the previous armor of the Merkava tank, they have no more power left, and it is extremely difficult to tear the entire armor of the Merkava.
The security issue is questionable.
From the point of view of security, the Merkava tank is known as the safest combat vehicle in the world, but this does not mean that he is invincible.
As can be seen from the Israeli-Palestinian war, Hamas has actually destroyed more than 100 Israeli Merkava tanks.
True or not, with current anti-tank technology, it is not difficult to penetrate the Merkava.
Take the Red Arrow Type 10 developed by our country, which has a penetration thickness of 1600 mm, which is enough to penetrate the vast majority of tank front armor.
Even the Merkava tank, with its special steel and protective layer, can't stop the arrival of the Red Arrow 10, not only because of its high armor-piercing shells, but more importantly, it has a variety of intelligence and attack methods, which can accurately hit the enemy's vital points and make them defenseless.
However, the Red Arrow 10 cannot be considered an "anti-tank", because this "laser-guided" airborne heavy-duty multifunctional missile is capable of attacking multiple targets at the same time.
And the American throwing anti-tank missile, as long as it is used properly, can also cause a certain amount of damage to the Merkava tank.
This ** can be used alone, it is also very fast, the maximum penetration thickness is only eight hundred mm, but with the cooperation of several targets, it is completely possible to cripple a Merkava tank.
To be precise, most tanks are not able to withstand this type of missile.
This is nothing, after all, a throwable anti-tank missile, the cost is only tens of thousands of dollars, multiple shells are fired together, there will always be some hit the target.
A Merkava tank costs more than six million dollars, and in this case, the owner of the car will definitely have an advantage.
Security guards don't necessarily have sturdy armor.
In addition to this, the American "Infernal Flame" rocket is more powerful, which is a kind of ** that can seriously injure Merkava tanks.
Therefore, judging by the current situation, the spear is winning.
The so-called "attacking instead of defending" for a chariot is not about how strong the armor is, but about having enough firepower, because only with strong firepower can the enemy have no power to fight back.
The Merkava tank was not developed with this in mind, so its fire control was also very average, and the 120 mm caliber shotgun it used was much stronger than ordinary guns in terms of rate of fire and lethality.
However, at present, it is impossible for Israel to maximize the power of the Merkava tank, after all, the current tank itself has a large load, and if it is strengthened, it will lead to a decrease in mobility.
Moreover, the Merkava tank is not very mobile, which means that its defense is not stronger than its defense.
If there is a loss in flexibility, it is really just a "crappy horse" and does not have much practical application value.
In terms of overall performance, the Chinese 99 A tank performed very well, whether it was mobility, artillery or defense capabilities, it was nothing, but when combined, it was very powerful.
But that's not its shortcoming.
On the front line, the Type 99 A tank has a high degree of informatization, which can effectively coordinate with other vehicles, support each other, and improve its own survival rate.
So there's good reason to think that 99 A is much safer than Merkava in big fights.
Top Writers
Quote: 1] Liu Liming. Israeli Merkava battle tank: changed from Merkava 1 to Merkava 4.
2] Ma Danhui. Israel developed the Merkava main battle tank.
3】"Javelin"type anti-tank gun (FGM-148) in deep air.