[The National Interest] Key point: An iconoclastic tank in the world of heavy armor, Merkava is also a proven combat winner.In the past forty years, just a handful of countries have proved themselves capable of building their own main battle tanks. One of these tank powers is actually one of the smallest countries in the world: Israel. Israel’s main battle tank, the Merkava series, is one of the best-designed tanks ever produced.
Israel’s independence in 1948 saw the formation of the Israeli Defense Forces, and the IDF cobbled together a modest, ramshackle tank force to repel attacks from neighboring Arab countries. By the 1956 war the situation had improved considerably, and by 1967 Israel’s Armored Corps basically won the Six-Day War with a blitz across the Sinai Peninsula and into the Golan Heights. The tanks, American M48 and British Centurion tanks, crushed the opposition and brought a quick end to the war.
Israel’s pre-emptive attack on its neighbors was not popular with some of its European allies. The United Kingdom cancelled a joint tank-development project with Israel. France embargoed further deliveries of Mirage fighter jets and missile boats. The lesson for Israel was to decrease its reliance on foreign powers for its armaments, and in 1970 the IDF began to develop a tank of its own.
The job of making an Israeli tank a reality fell to Maj. Gen. Israel Tal, former commander of the IDF Armored Corps and who led the Eighty-Fourth Armored Division to victory in the Sinai. Tal’s project was a major challenge, as Israel’s military-industrial complex was in its infancy and the country had never built a large armored vehicle before. Working from a clean sheet, Tal could build a tank from the ground up with Israel’s tank-warfare experiences baked in.
Three attributes define a modern tank: firepower (the main gun), mobility (speed and cross-country operation) and protection (armor). Some tank-building countries emphasize one or two attributes over the other. In Israel’s case, Tal prioritized protection over all else. Israel’s small size meant that it felt even modest wartime deaths acutely, and an emphasis on protection would keep personnel losses down.