Israeli Afvs

[Wiedzmin]

 

https://yadlashiryon.com/news/16-בדצמבר-2020-טנק-המרכבה-סימן-1-האמנם-הייתה/

 

 

made very rough model(only for understanding how geometry of detail look like IRL) of Mk4 frontal turret parts, right "wall" have trunnion resolver or something like that in "big hole"

[Wiedzmin]

 

Mk3 welded turret

 

 

Mk3 casted turret

 

 

and engine bay "armor" wall

Edited January 10, 2021 by Wiedzmin

[Wiedzmin]

 

Mk4 turret

Edited February 2, 2021 by Wiedzmin

[Mighty_Zuk]

1 hour ago, Wiedzmin said:

 

Mk4 turret

Nice. Where'd you get it?

[Wiedzmin]

https://pc2020.afeka.ac.il/pc2020book/files/assets/basic-html/page-166-167.html

On 2/2/2021 at 2:02 PM, Mighty_Zuk said:

Nice. Where'd you get it?

 

[Mighty_Zuk]

Rafael's video on NGCV shows some different vehicles with their systems, but the most intriguing one is a Merkava 4M with what appears to be a quad launcher protruding from behind its turret top modules.

My personal estimate is that it is just a launcher for FireFly drones made by Rafael, that they were too lazy to stick somewhere else in the model, and wanted to highlight that it's indeed a launcher and not a box.

FireFly drones, of course, launch vertically.

[alanch90]

Hello everyone, first post in this forum. Quick doubt, how credible is the claim here about the weight of Merkava 4 (presumably including Trophy) being 80 tons?
 

 

[Mighty_Zuk]

2 hours ago, alanch90 said:

Hello everyone, first post in this forum. Quick doubt, how credible is the claim here about the weight of Merkava 4 (presumably including Trophy) being 80 tons?
 

 

Incredibly un-credible.

80 tons is about the absolute maximum weight rating for Israel's HETs (Heavy Equipment Transporter). Reaching that weight would mark a critical point of failure in the program.

Actual weight is around the 65 ton mark.

[methos]

It is not the first and not the only time this claim has been made. The 65 t figure is a valid for the baseline model; the mine protection plate for the Merkava 4 has been claimed to weigh four metric tons.

[Mighty_Zuk]

2 hours ago, methos said:

It is not the first and not the only time this claim has been made. The 65 t figure is a valid for the baseline model; the mine protection plate for the Merkava 4 has been claimed to weigh four metric tons.

And who made that claim? A metal sheet of that size would certainly weigh roughly that amount, but I've no memory of any specific claim.

[alanch90]

In case anyone finds these useful, i made them but take no credit.

[Mighty_Zuk]

16 hours ago, alanch90 said:

In case anyone finds these useful, i made them but take no credit.

That's the definition of taking credit.

Nice work, would only switch to more wintery colors.

[alanch90]

1 hour ago, Mighty_Zuk said:

That's the definition of taking credit.

lol thats true XD

Meant to say that if anyone wants to use it for whatever, its free to do so without even asking for permission or anything like that.

[methos]

On 2/21/2021 at 1:19 PM, Mighty_Zuk said:

And who made that claim? A metal sheet of that size would certainly weigh roughly that amount, but I've no memory of any specific claim.

According to Rolf Hilmes, the Merkava 4 (initial production model) had a combat weight of 65 metric tons. The addition of a mine protection kit (and Trophy?) increases the weight to 71.4 metric tons.

[Mighty_Zuk]

4 hours ago, methos said:

According to Rolf Hilmes, the Merkava 4 (initial production model) had a combat weight of 65 metric tons. The addition of a mine protection kit (and Trophy?) increases the weight to 71.4 metric tons.

I'm not familiar with this publication. But there is something even weirder.

An article today, in non-defense media, stated the Merkava 4 weighs 82 tons, and that it "today has 1500hp and no longer 1300hp" and also "various things the Merkava 3 doesn't have" like electric brakes.

This could be understood in more than one way. Did the Merkava 4 have power conversion issues that were now erected, that reduced its actual power to 1300hp, or was the Merkava 3's engine yet again up-rated to a nominal 1300hp?

[DB]

What is the publication? If it's an American magazine style like Business Insider, or similar, they're not immune to getting tonnes and tons mixed up, or being unclear which ones they are using.

80 short tons, for example, is about 72.5 tonnes and is just the sort of conversion plus rounding you'd get from a popular magazine article in the US.

[Mighty_Zuk]

8 hours ago, DB said:

What is the publication? If it's an American magazine style like Business Insider, or similar, they're not immune to getting tonnes and tons mixed up, or being unclear which ones they are using.

80 short tons, for example, is about 72.5 tonnes and is just the sort of conversion plus rounding you'd get from a popular magazine article in the US.

True, but the source is an Israeli website, and in Israel we're using metric tons.

[Mighty_Zuk]

[Mighty_Zuk]

IAI selected as prime contractor for Carmel program of the IDF. 

Demonstration will proceed on the Eitan.

 

 

 

[Rick]

Ex-sailor question, the Merkava had/has an engine in the front of the hull. From looking at photos of the earlier versions of this tank, it looks like there are some large hinges on the front slope of the hull. Is this how the engine was pulled out for maintenance and repair? Did these hinges ever cause problems in combat due to damage?

Thank you. 

[Mighty_Zuk]

3 hours ago, Rick said:

Ex-sailor question, the Merkava had/has an engine in the front of the hull. From looking at photos of the earlier versions of this tank, it looks like there are some large hinges on the front slope of the hull. Is this how the engine was pulled out for maintenance and repair? Did these hinges ever cause problems in combat due to damage?

Thank you. 

The engine can be accessed in 2 ways.

First, by lifting the smaller plate in the front, it gives a limited access to the powerpack. It can be opened by hand.

Second, by lifting that plate and also a much larger plate behind it. This one requires a crane. 

I have never heard of any damage-induced difficulty in opening either. On the Merkava 3 and 4, the only remaining models in service, some turret armor needs to be removed to access the larger plate.

[Ssnake]

If a hinge was smashed, I suppose the recovery crew or at least the repair shop will have a plasma cutter at their disposal to remove the stuck bits. And since you'd probably have to replace the plate in such a case anyway, I don't see much of a problem either as far as practical consequences are concerned. You break a broken part a bit more, is all. All goes back to the smelter if you can't patch it up.

[alanch90]

On 10/10/2021 at 7:48 AM, Mighty_Zuk said:

IAI selected as prime contractor for Carmel program of the IDF. 

Demonstration will proceed on the Eitan.

 

 

 

Is there a time estimation on when we will see a full scale prototype?

[Mighty_Zuk]

7 hours ago, alanch90 said:

Is there a time estimation on when we will see a full scale prototype?

Nope, but IOC in 2029. Expect a prototype about 4-5 years before that.

[alanch90]

On 10/13/2021 at 5:32 PM, Mighty_Zuk said:

Nope, but IOC in 2029. Expect a prototype about 4-5 years before that.

Thought it was coming much sooner.