Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1333129
Photo source successor. The ammunition in question was not a means proper to do the job mentioned above. The Jewish approach towards problems as such has always been pragmatic. Three solutions were developed, two of them were programmable. The Israeli engineers also developed 105 mm stun rounds, designed for crowd control purposes, without a projectile - this ammunition contained solely the propelling charge. CL3872 round strikes the target with the blast, flash, and rumble. It blasts the rioting crowds trying to get onto the vehicle or blocking the movement of the MBT. It is not an entirely non-lethal round, as a person standing less than 20 meters from the vehicle, in the axis of the gun, would die, or would be heavily wounded. This is why ammunition as such is usually defined as 'less-lethal'. The second round, which is a live round, designed for combat purposes purely, is a conversion of the HEAT-MP-T 105 mm (M456) ammunition. A typical HEAT round is modified here. The piezoelectric fuse is replaced with an electronic, programmable device. The fuse, interestingly, could be replaced in field conditions. The above modification designated IMI M152/6, still makes it possible to penetrate 450-460 mm of steel when acting against ar- mor. The main innovation here stems from the selectable detonation profile that can be programmed (air-burst), at a specific distance from the muzzle. Identical modification is also possible in the case of the 120 mm HEAT-MP-T rounds. Obviously, a warhead containing 1.8 ki- lograms of Composition B is far less effective than dedicated HE rounds. Nonetheless, the conversion option applicable to several thou- sand HEAT rounds is a major advantage of the Israeli solution. APAM (Anti Personal Anti Material) round is the third solution developed by IMI - 105 mm and 120 mm M329 Kalanit variants have become a part of the armament used by Merkavas. Significant differences occur be- tween the two calibers. The legacy 105 mm round features an electron- ic fuse with a manual programming unit, with an option of program- ming the round via an induction programmer. The solution mentioned above was required to allow other Israeli MBTs - Magahs and legacy Merkavas - to utilize the ammunition in question. The Kalanit rounds feature a peculiar payload - six cylindrically shaped submunitions, each featuring three independent fuses, and a layer of pre-fragmented plate. The round should be actually viewed as a cluster munition. The sub- munitions cover an area of 20x50 meters in fragments, most of the fragmentation is focused within a 40 sq. m area. This type of warhead has been selected due to the lack of necessary precision available in the case of the fuses programmed manually. The round can also act against the target in a manner identical to a HE round with delayed det- onation, after hitting, or after penetrating the obstacle. Both variants of the round were effectively employed in Gaza and in Southern Lebanon. Summing it up, one could conclude that Merkava Mk 2A and Mk 2B featured numerous innovations. However, they have not been brand new, when compared to the first iteration of this platform. The protec- VEHICLES