Merkava Barak (IDF)
The IDF has introduced the latest iteration of its vaunted Mekava (chariot) tank. The Merkava 4 has been in operation for twenty years now, but instead of calling the new tank the Merkava 5 it has been dubbed the “Merkava Barak” (Barak is Hebrew for lightening).
Developed jointly by the Israel Defense Ministry’s Armored Vehicles Directorate and the IDF’s Ground Forces and Armored Corps, the Merkava Barak is being rolled out on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. In that war, it was the IDF’s armored brigades that stood their ground in the Golan Heights and blunted the Syrian advance, otherwise, Syria’s armored might have moved down into the Galilee.
The first Barak tanks were delivered to the 52nd Battalion of the IDF’s 401st Tank Brigade which covers the Jordan River Valley area.
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“Taking on the tank is a tremendous opportunity to improve operational effectiveness for the next campaign,” emphasized the commander of the 401st Brigade, Col. Benny Aharon.
The IDF said the Merkava Barak is made entirely of blue and white, that is it is made entirely in Israel, and that it is “supposed to lead a revolution.” Israeli defense firms like Elbit Systems, Rafael, and the Israel Aerospace Industries’ Elta subsidiary all took part in its development.
For example, a new combat helmet developed by Elbit Systems will, with the help of a network of cameras and sensors around the tank, allow the tank commanders to see what is going on around them without sticking their heads outside of the tank. It displays all the relevant combat data on the reflector, and enables a 360-degree scanning capability by moving the head, and thus, all the fighters stay inside. Until now, the Merkava had only a few cameras that provided just a partial view of the outside.
It was the need to be outside the protection of the turret that led to the deaths of almost all of the IDF’s armored corps officers and most of its tank commanders at the start of the Yom Kippur War.
In addition to the scanning capabilities, the new Merkava Barak’s helmet incorporates artificial intelligence technology that locates targets in real time, which can be easily transferred to the attack and arm assemblies and communicate with other teams on the battlefield. This allows for communication with parties outside the tank to be “easier than ever.”
The Merkava Barak also has a “wind jacket” system, which protects it from anti-tank missiles.
An upgraded targeting system helps the gunners in the Merkava Barak aim better and coordinate the electrically controlled weapons. This, said the IDF, make “the lightning strike is much more effective and accurate.”
“Combining these technologies with the quality of our people will result in a tremendous advantage in continental superiority,” declared the commandant of the IDF armored corps, Brigadier General Hisham Ibrahim, who happens to be a Druze Arab-Israeli. “I am proud of the privilege to be at the head of the corps at such a historic moment.”
