Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1333129
The Southern Lebanon fights have also shown that the rear portions of the Merkava's turret and hull were vulnerable to light anti-tank weapons - espe- cially the turret niche and the area underneath. Spaced armor turned out to be a solution here, in a form of a large basket surrounding the turret niche. Theoretically, it was used by the crews to store their belongings. It was "acci- dental" that the basket spacing made it possible for anti-tank grenades to fit in between its bars. This damaged the warhead by disintegrating the shaped- charge insert. After the grenade hits the grid, the metal elements are hit as well which deforms the shaped charge conical liner and disrupts the ener- gy-focusing effect or damages the grenade by damaging its body and the in- ternal insert that transmits the piezoelectric fuse impulse. The effectiveness of this type of armor very much depends on the type of grenade hitting the armor and on the angle at which the grenade hits it. The Israeli designers have also found a clever way to secure the area below the turret's basket. It features a chain-based protection system, with those chains ending with metal spheres. This feature is one of Merkava's trademarks. Contrary to the common view, this invention has a Swedish, not Israeli, origin. Protection solution as such was being tested in Sweden back in 1981. For 90 mm HEAT warheads, a system as such was reducing their penetration capability by around 60%. The rear portion of the hull was fitted with rapidly-removable baskets that could accommodate gear. Their surface was made out of per- forated steel slats. They were to initiate the fuses of HEAT warheads early. Along with the basket holding the equipment externally (more than 1 me- ter of space) and the filtering/ventilation system (right), and battery (left) compartments placed in the rear section of the hull, all of these elements provided relevant protection for the hull ammunition storage space. Back in the 1990s, the turret tops of some Merkava Mk 2Bs were reinforced with an extra layer of armor, analogous in thickness and design to the armor protect- ing the hull sides. Changes made to the hull were less prominent than the ones applied in the case of the turret. The total protection offered by the front portion of the armor seemed to be sufficient to protect the MBT from ATGMs used by the neighboring states. The driver's seat area was reinforced as well. Some MBTs received a crude extra overlay of armor in front of the driver. A design gap near the engine air intake was removed. The side aprons protecting the wheels were redesigned. Originally these consisted of 3 sections for each side. The new ones were made out of 5 elements each. Ultimately, new, heavier aprons were introduced for Merkava Mk 2B and the future models. Their sections are made out of armor that is of identical design and thick- ness, most probably, as the plates applied in case of the extra protection of www.fragoutmag.com