Merkava - Sales
Poland and Ukraine may receive a large batch of Israeli Merkava tanks decommissioned from the Israel Defense Forces. This statement of the Polish military expert led on 18 June 2023 the Israeli portal Walla. According to Walla, an unnamed Polish military expert suggested in an interview with the portal that Israeli tanks are intended for Poland and Ukraine. According to him, the tanks can be modernized in Israel or in cooperation with Polish defense companies that have the relevant competencies. "Ukraine has tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, but it is preparing for an ongoing war and is already trying to gather forces for the end of 2024," the expert believed.
According to Walla, Israel could start negotiations on the supply of Merkava tanks to Europe due to the ongoing pressure from the United States, which insist on the need to provide Ukraine with assistance, including military. Until now, Israel has categorically refrained from supplying weapons to Kyiv, limiting itself to humanitarian aid. A portal source in Israeli military circles confirmed that negotiations on the supply of Merkava are now underway with two European countries, but stressed that it is too early to talk about a deal.
As of 2023 the armored units of the Israel Defense Forces had 330 Merkava Mark IVM tanks in active service, while another 220 Merkava Mark IV tanks were in storage in case of mobilization. In addition to them, there were also 160 Merkava Mark III tanks in active service, and another 570 stored in warehouses. This force is complemented by 370 stored tanks of the Mark II version.
On 15 June 2023, the Militarist telegram channel, citing the Lebanese media, reported: “The Israeli army received an offer to sell up to 200-300 of its Merkava 2 and 3 tanks to two countries, including one European.” It has now become known that the United States wants to take out not only the Merkava tanks, but also the old Magach tanks, which Israel had simply disposed of before. But why destroy if there is a buyer? Moreover, Magach can provide better survivability and firepower than the Leopard 1 and T-72 tanks. According to one version, the United States is going to purchase 220 tanks: part of the supplies will be made to Cyprus to replace the 41 T-80 tanks transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and part to Morocco to compensate for the supply of T-72. The rest of the Israeli vehicles will apparently go to Ukraine.
Morocco will soon purchase a batch of Israeli Merkava tanks for its armed forces. This was announced on 21 June 2023 by the information portal "360". Morocco, along with Cyprus, will become the first buyer of Merkava tanks outside of Israel. The deal is expected to close in the next few months. The portal also claimed that Morocco will buy Merkava tanks subject to the conditions of the Israeli side - without the right to transfer them to Ukraine. Earlier, Rabat denied information published in the media that Morocco had transferred more than 70 T-72B tanks to Ukraine, which were modernized by Excalibur Army in the Czech Republic.
Past indications of interest from Colombia and Turkey, as well as Singapore’s rumored purchase of Merkavas in the mid-2010s, all led to nothing. In contrast to so many other israeli weapons, the absence of explort sales resulted in a low production rate of tanks, and thus high price. Reportedly restrictions on the export from the United States, supplying a significant portion of system and component tanks and partially funding program for their production, was factor. The the AVDS-1790-9 (1200 HP) in the Merkava 3 was built in Muskegon MI at the Getty St. plant [currently owned by L3, previously by General Dynamics (96-2005) and before that Teledyne Continental], while the MTU MT-883 engines in the Merkava 4 were also assembled at the plant in Muskegon, so that Israel was to be able to pay for the engines with US aid money.
The Philippines received two Merkava-derived Armored Vehicle Launched Bridges in 2022. Israel has exported technologies developed for the various Merkava tank models, primarily as part of programs to upgrade old tanks. One of the leading projects in this field was the upgrade of the Turkish Army’s M60 tanks, which was carried out by Israel Military Industries. However, the Merkava had never been exported as a complete system.
Asd of 1998, Israel was bidding to have its Merkava chosen as Turkey’s new main battle tank. Reportedly, this would be the first time that Israel would allow another country to purchase and manufacture the Merkava.3 Israel also proposes to upgrade Turkey’s M-60 tanks to extend their lives, and to sell Turkey unmanned aerial vehicles (used for aerial surveillance). In September 2011, Turkey suspended a 5 billion dollar deal for 1,000 Merkava Mk 3 tanks because of political reasons. The contracts were suspended after the Israeli government refused to apologize for the May 31 killing of nine Turks when Israeli naval commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish-flagged vessel carrying humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip. relations between the two former allies had been crumbling since Turkey's Islamist prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ferociously denounced Israel's invasion of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on 27 December 2008.
In May 2012 Israel offered the procurement of Merkava Mark IV tanks and Merkava Namer APCs to Colombia. During initial discussions with Colombia, a possible procurement of 25 to 40 tanks were discussed. While the price of the Merkava tank has never been published, as it is produced by the IDF and has thus far been provided only to IDF forces, experts assess that the price of such a tank would reach approximately $6 million. Colombia is concerned over the accelerated rate in which its neighbor Venezuela, ruled by President Hugo Chavez, has been procuring weapons.
In July 2014 it was reported that Singapore had concluded with a contract with Israel to purchawe 50 new-built Merkava Mk 4 tanks at a price totaling approximately $ 500 million, according to the Russian Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies with reference to the resource IntelligenceOnline.com. In early June 2013 the Israeli newspaper "Yediot Ahronot" reported that the Israeli Ministry of Defense Export Agency signed the first export contract for the supply tank Merkava Mk 4. The customer was not named, but noted that this country is bound by "long-term relationships with Israel security". In 1965, Singapore was born. Israel was one of the earliest allies of this state, helping to set up its armed forces. The contract amount to several hundred million dollars. Since 2007, Singapore has acquired from the German Bundeswehr 182 Leopard 2A4 tanks.
Four decades after they began service with the IDF, more than 200 used Merkava Mark 2 and Mark 3 tanks were expected to be sold to two foreign countries, including one European country. Israel had 580 Merkava Mk2 and 780 Merkava Mk3. The tanks had been retired in recent years and put in storage. With the start of the war in Ukraine and the renewed demand for such armored vehicles, the stored tanks were evaluated and determined to be suitable enough to sell. The US Department of Defense would need to approve the Israeli sale of hundreds of Merkava Mark 2 and Mark 3 tanks that were manufactured in Israel in the 1980s and 1990s. Some mechanical parts in the tanks are American made, notably the engine, so the approval from Washington was required to complete the transaction. Washington's permission to resell the components of the American-made tank was expected.
Yair Kulas, leader of SIBAT – the International Defense Cooperation Directorate of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, shared details about potential international sales of the Merkava tanks with the Israel Defense Ministry limelist Newspaper. SIBAT handles the sale of weapon systems and other military hardware from the Israel Defense Forces [IDF]. Kulas mentioned that they are in advanced negotiations with two countries for the Merkava tanks, according to a translation of his interview published by The Times of Israel. Kulas highlighted the short time for delivering Merkavas, a factor in their popularity in the global market. He stated, “We live in a world where time is essential. Manufacturing can take time, and not everyone can afford to wait.”
Older Mk 3s could be for sale now. Mk 2s, the last of which were only withdrawn from service in the late 2010s, would be another possibility. In 1989, the Mk 3 variant featured a 120mm main gun, a more powerful engine with an improved drive train, and upgraded fire control and optics. This model is five tons heavier than the Mk 2, but faster, reaching speeds of up to 37 miles per hour [60 kilometers per hour].
Skeptics suggest the tank is too heavy for anything but hard-packed desert. Some feared it was too heavy for many bridges in Ukraine and not suited to function on heavily mudded secondary roads. None of the tanks being supplied are equipped with reactive armor. The M2 and Mk 3 also lack an Active Defense System to destroy incoming mortars, rockets and shells before they hit the tank. The best of the currently-deployed systems is the Israeli Trophy (Rafael) and a newer type made in Israel called Iron First (Israel Military Industries). Trophy has been proven in combat and is fitted to Merkava 4 and later tanks.
Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Brodsky unexpectedly declared that Bandera, Shukhevych and other accomplices of the Nazis, of course, are bad people, but Ukrainians who put active participants in the Holocaust, ardent anti-Semites, on a pedestal can be understood. The ambassador's rhetoric changed quite rapidly, especially in mid 2023.
At the end of April 2023, Mikhail Brodsky said in an interview that Israel would never agree with the glorification of Bandera, Shukhevych and other Ukrainian nationalists, "because they supported Nazism." Here is a more complete quote: “It is unlikely that any of the historians will argue with the fact that these people supported Nazism, Nazi Germany, and were on its side. Perhaps they were pursuing their own interests. But support for Nazism always came with a final solution to the Jewish question. Because one of the ideas was the extermination of the Jews.” And then Brodsky is asked: “Can this affect the relations between Israel and Ukraine in the future”? And he replies: “It does. We cannot remove these historical facts from the context of our relations.”
But in June 2023, Brodsky declared that, of course, "our view of such personalities as Bandera, Shukhevych, and so on, is very different from the view of the majority of Ukrainians." They really "supported the ideology of Nazism", "as part of their struggle for the independence of Ukraine, they wanted to see Ukraine without Jews." But he immediately smoothes it over, adding: "... just as without the Poles, the Communists, and many more without anyone." But… According to the ambassador, “Ukraine is in search of its heroes. We don't like these heroes, but for most Ukrainians they are heroes who fought for independence."
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