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Merkava Mark Iv
The Merkava Mk.4M (or Mk.4 Meil Ruach, meaning "windbreaker coat") is simply a Merkava Mk.4 with an APS Trophy hard-kill installed. For more information on the history of the Merkava Mk.4, visit the dedicated article.
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Development of this variant began around 2007 in response to the growing threat of ATGMs, in particular the deadly Russian Kornet which, in addition to being used by Hezbollah, also began to appear in the hands of Hamas , a Palestinian terrorist organization has .
Although the frontal armor of the Merkava Mk.4 offered considerable protection against all threats, further improvements were needed. But the thing about armor is that you can only have so much before the tank starts to get really heavy and the Merkava Mk.4 definitely fell into that category with it weighing in at around 70 tons. Alternative ways had to be found to increase the levels of protection against missiles and RPGs (the most widely deployed anti-tank weapons in asymmetric warfare, apart from IEDs). So installing an APS was the next logical step.
Before we delve further into the Trophy upgrade, a few words about active protection systems in general.
Active protection systems are based on the idea that the best way to protect an armored vehicle is to not allow it to be hit in the first place. There are two basic types of APS, both of which detect the incoming threat via radar and then react to it: soft kill APS and hard kill APS.
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Soft-kill APS are multiple emitters that confuse the guidance mechanism of guided missiles. They work at longer range and basically miss the missile. There are serious drawbacks to this approach: whether or not the system works depends on the missile, and it doesn't work against unguided HEAT projectiles like RPGs.
Hard kill systems, on the other hand, are designed with the idea of destroying the enemy projectile before it reaches the vehicle by hitting it with something, say fragments of your own controlled projectile explosion. Here, too, the challenges are clear:
On the other hand, such a system is capable of defeating RPGs even at close range if advanced enough components are used (it really comes down to reaction times).
This system may seem like science fiction at first, especially to someone who was previously interested in World War II technology, but the idea itself is quite old. The Soviets were the first to build and deploy an APS with their Drozd system. Development began in 1977 as an upgrade program for the older T-55 and T-62 tank series. Of course, with 1980s Soviet technology, the Drozd was slow to react, had a minimum range of about 250 meters from the vehicle, and was terribly dangerous to any person or soft vehicle in the blast zone. It was also very expensive and that was basically the end of it, but prototypes were built and reportedly saw combat in Afghanistan as well.
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The West, of course, had the same idea and other systems were tested, but real development only began to take place in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but the spread of these systems was - and is - slow due to its inherent problems (mainly cost, but also performance, reliability and security). Currently, there is only one hard-kill system that is not only mass-produced, but also combat-tested: the Trophy APS.
The Trophy (also called Windbreaker or ASPRO-A in Israeli service) was developed in the early 2000s by Rafael and Elta of the IAI group. There are several variants, the one installed in the Merkava is the heaviest (it weighs 850 kg). It's a hard kill system consisting of two launcher boxes (one per side, each loaded with a three-round autoloader). The launchers turn and turn toward the wire based on data provided by their homing radar. In theory, each of them can rotate 360 degrees, but in reality their arc is limited to about 200 degrees due to the blast shield installed behind each launcher to protect the tank crew.
The Trophy system does not fire rockets at incoming projectiles, but instead launches "shotgun bursts" of 35 small penetrators in the form of an explosive, a rather unique solution. Under the blast box countermeasure is a set of two radar panels for the Elta ELM-2133 Windguard Pulse Doppler radar. The great thing about the Trophy system is that it actually works reliably (unlike some experimental western APS kits): it can handle incoming guided missiles and RPGs quite effectively. Sources differ on whether it can actually handle HEAT and HE tanks, but it probably can. It is also quite cheap.
The biggest one is the Trophy's blast radius - getting hit by a burst of projectiles from the red Trophy isn't good for your health. At the time of presentation, this was a serious problem that the IDF dealt with by adapting tactics for tanks accompanying infantry; simply put, soldiers must move behind Trophy tanks and any army that wanted to take the Trophy (such as the Americans who originally rejected it for this reason) would have to do the same. Second, the trophy's reload time is quite long for an APS (about 1.7 seconds) and its charges are limited; this creates a gap in the protection and multiple RPGs fired from the same direction can manage to get through.
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Regardless of these issues, the Trophy system is alive and well. Trophy-equipped Merkava Mk.4 tanks have already seen combat, most notably during 2014's Operation Protective Edge, where the system intercepted a large number of enemy RPGs and even guided missiles; the exact number is unknown (some sources claim around a dozen successful interceptions). ) while others claim more than three dozen), but one thing is certain: no Merkava Mk.4M has been lost in combat to date.
In Armored Warfare, the Merkava Mk.4M will be a tier 10 progression main battle tank and the ultimate vehicle of the Israeli branch.
At level 10, many MBTs have their own niche. The Abrams is all about being universal and good in any situation, the Challenger 2 ATDU is the thickest armor possible, etc. The Mk.4M's specialty will be active protection. The armor will be relatively thick and the tank will have the most hit points of its level, but it will also have a very special upgrade: the "next generation trophy" APS capable of intercepting all types of shells, including kinetic ones.
The ability to intercept APFSDS penetrators is not something else, at least not entirely. The idea is not to destroy the flying penetrator rod - it has too much energy to do that, but to give it some pressure so that the flying arrow can lean and not hit exactly with its tip, just a few degrees. enough to significantly reduce its penetration capacity. According to some sources, tilting the rod 10 degrees reduces its penetration ability by 50 percent.
Academy 1/35 Merkava Mk.iv Lic
Additionally, a system that can successfully intercept kinetic rounds is said to have already been built and tested, the AMAP ADS by a German company called IBD Deisenroth. However, the key word here is "allegedly" - given the classification of the entire system and the proximity of the target that actually intercepts the enemy projectile, there are serious doubts that this is true. The biggest challenge to defeating kinetic rounds is, of course, their extreme velocity: the 105mm round can generally be intercepted at over 500 meters with existing technology (given its velocity of about 1600 m/s ), but modern 120mm penetrators fly over 1800m/s. .
Regardless, IMI, Rafael and IAI have already expressed their intention to further develop the Trophy APS and integrate some Iron Fist elements (another Israeli APS, rejected in favor of the Trophy) to allow it to intercept kinetic shells . Whether this turns out to be realistic or just a marketing ploy or wishful thinking remains to be seen.
In Armored Warfare, we decided to take the liberty of introducing this next generation trophy system as a "what if" design; after all, the game takes place in the late 2030s and early 2040s. It's safe to say that we have a lot of confidence in the skills of the Israeli military industry developers.
The Merkava Mk.4 will not generally be a melee tank; it will be more comfortable to destroy your enemies from a distance while protected by its thick turret armor and advanced APS. Faster tanks will be able to outrun him, but if played well, it will be possible to deal incredible damage. But don't worry; even
In Development: Merkava Mk.4m Windbreaker
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