This is coolbert: The Israeli tank the Merkava is an indigenously developed tank that the Israelis have built incorporating the concept of combined arms. The concept of combined arms was touched upon in a previous post. How each combat arm enhances and protects the other arms if they all work together as a team.

When designing the Merkava the Israeli designers incorporated features they felt would satisfy the combined arms concept. In the rear of the tank is a compartment for infantry [a team of five infantry] to ride in. This infantry can dismount as necessary and help to clear anti-tank infantry confronting the tank. A mortar is mounted on the rear of the tank that can be employed by the supporting infantry or the tank crew themselves.

These features were adopted mostly as a consequence of the Israeli experience in the Arab-Israeli war of 1973, when large numbers of Israeli tanks were surprised and destroyed by anti-tank guided missiles [Sagger] wielded by Egyptian forces. Tactics that previously worked famously against Arab forces, mainly the tank "charge", no longer worked.

New concepts and weapons had to be developed.

The Merkava ["Chariot" in Hebrew] was one answer.

It should be noted that the Israelis take the upper 10 % [recruits that score in the upper 10 % of the battery of tests given to recruits] of their soldiers and place them into the armor units that are the elite of their army. You get the most from the best where it counts most. The biggest bang for your buck from the raw human material available to you.

coolbert.