Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1333129
Photo source the turret (on its sides).To increase the crew protection levels, more changes were introduced: "Spectronix" explosion/fire protection system was installed. Two IMI CL-3030 smoke grenade launchers were installed on the turret sides. Starting from the late 1980s, the Mk 2B Merkavas also received the laser ra- diation warning receivers - known as the Third Eye. The Third Eye's mast that is 45 cm tall is placed in the rear of the turret. The commander has a simple panel at his disposal, with a LED-based display, showing the sector where the laser beam has been detected. Furthermore, the system also features an audio sensor. Merkava Mk 2B has been involved in numerous battles, but not against the enemy expected by the designers. Instead of fighting the T-62, or T-72 platforms, the Israeli chariots faced the Hezbollah and Hamas terrorists. The former organization was very dangerous - with a high level of training, high morale, and relevant support provided by Iran, and Syria. This meant that it had quite good access to anti-tank weapons, until the late 1990s - Malyutka, Metis, Konkurs, and Fagot ATGMs, as well as Milan and TOW copies. The losses were scarce, at least in the very beginning, as the Israeli MBTs were protecting the crews efficiently. Until 1997, more than 28 hits of ATGMs were recorded in the case of the Merkava tanks, with no crewmem- bers having died, and with no serious injuries. No MBT has been lost as well. This stemmed from Merkava's design, and from the obsolete nature of the ATGMs design, dating back to the 1970s. However, the Hezbollah quickly adapted the tactics, with the anti-tank squads at- tacking the enemy vehicles from the sides. The first effective attack took place in September 1997. Fagot ATGM hit the side-top portion of the hull, near the driver sitting below the turret. The driver was KIA, the rest of the crew suffered from light injuries. The attack that took place in October 1997 was far more tragic. A well-organized ambush found two Merkava Mk 2 MBTs being hit - both with a single ATGM hitting the right side of the turret, in the area where the gunner and commander were sat. One tank crew member was killed, while all of the crew, drivers excluded, were wounded. The aging process that Merkava Mk 2 has suffered from does show - this was especially pronounced during the war in Lebanon, back in 2006. Hezbollah was the enemy - with a higher quantity of ATGMs at its disposal, Metis-M, Kornet and RPG-29 included. The Mk 2B ve- hicles were fighting as a part of the 7th Armored Brigade. The first MBT was lost on 12th July (the crew was lost as well), in an explosion of a monstrous IED. On August 8th, half of another MBT crew was killed, after a modern ATGM hit the tank. A day later one of the MBTs VEHICLES