oh yeah and it has full air-conditioning for whole crew i think its the only mtb atm that has full ac xD never been in a tank but i can emagine it can get hot in there
Or speaks to the fact the IDF is a US supported military fighting against groups with no real way to combat them. It is the same as look at the Russian Military in Syria. Few losses doesn’t mean you have skill or experience. Just fighting someone or something with no way to fight back
Israel reports all KIA's by name, rank and unit. The info is very easy to find. So far, very few armored core KIA's are listed, so any claims of massive numbers of tanks being destroyed are pretty much unfounded.
Israel lies so frequently you can't believe anything they say. Then there is the racism, genocide, rape, murder of children, journalist and the direct targeting of hospitals medics and ambulances.
One small point I would make, a tank being destroyed wouldn't necessarily result in the deaths of their crew, so wouldn't be a reliable way to estimate if any tanks have been destroyed. The only surefire way to verify tank kills is visual confirmation. In the absence of any, assume zero losses.
Israel reports on each fallen soldier, as today the number is 795 and each soldier has it's own page with some basic details, age, unit, rank, division, picture. Yes, the number could be slightly bigger, but the IDF won't publicly declare a new name or number to the press until there is 100% certainty of identification and not before the notification team confirms that close relatives had been notified according to protocol procedures.
@@Icarus07c Beg to differ. "Destroyed" means flipped, turret toss or and/or cook-off - otherwise it's just "damage" and the tank goes on it's merry way. Given the close quarters, any crew escaping from a destroyed tank would be easy pickings for the same RPG toting hero.
The January 23rd explosion was not a "perfectly laid Palestinian trap", it was a building being rigged for demolition which was set off by an rpg. It even says it in the article you have in the video at 5:17. The main Israeli criticism on the matter was that there were so many soldiers on the premises, particularly ones who weren't involved in rigging said explosives.
A close friend of mine named Omer Neutra was kidnapped from the tank that was destroyed on Oct 7th. On the day of writing this comment he has been a hostage for 406 days. Out of the 4 man crew only Omer and Nimrod Cohen are believed to still be alive. Please pray for their and all other hostages safe return and an end to this horrific conflict.
Ah, honesty as a journalist... thank you for admitting there may be bias from anyone/everyone. I wish the media strove for the excellence your team does. Thank you for the great content, keep it up!
@@AL-lh2ht websters: a person who writes for newspapers, magazines, or news websites or prepares news to be broadcast. it doesnt say anything about where they get their information making up a part of the definition.
There are 2 updates: 1. Merkavas are already in Lebanon, for over a month now. The problem is that most of the elite Hezballah forces did a Sir Robin move and bravely ran away. 2. RAFAEL is already working on a new version of the Tropy system which should work againt threats that are coming from above, like top-down attack missiles and drones.
“Bravely ran away” It’s called luring in the Israelis until they become overextended. They did it in the 80s, they did it in the 90s, they did it in 2006, and now they’re doing it again. Are you stupid?
The tank didn’t kill him, and the incompetent ITF turned him into a war hero, so I think he’s probably not complaining as he died in battle like he promised and not surrounded in a bunker by human shields like Netanyahu every time they sound the alarms in Tel Aviv
Hey, IDF reservist here. Few things: First of all, I really wouldn't trust anything the Palestinian side is putting out regarding our casualties. According to them, the entire IDF was killed in Gaza and Hamas now controls Jerusalem. I mean, if delusions were strawberries, we would be drinking smoothies right now. On a more serious note, we have very few MBT "casualties." There were some Merkava crew members that either died or were injured, but the numbers aren't high and even the most damaged tanks weren't beyond repair. Normally, urban warfare would be a death sentence to tanks, but the IDF employs the Merkavas in conjunction with artillery, air support, and most importantly, infantry! One of the reasons why Russia saw such a high number of its tanks destroyed during the early weeks of the war in Ukraine was because tanks moved into urban areas without infantry-a major mistake! Specifically regarding the lack of munitions you mentioned in the beginning-this was true. At some point, the IDF faced a shortage of tank projectiles-not the anti-tank projectiles, but the anti-building/infantry variety. But this was in the early months of the war. I don't hear about it anymore, so I guess it was resolved. From what I understood, we had those types of projectiles in short supply to begin with since the IDF didn't plan on a full-scale invasion of Gaza. So at some point, the IDF started using the anti-tank projectiles to conserve munitions, but I assume that the issue was resolved. Regarding the last video you showed, where the drone dropped the projectile on the tank, this happened in the very early hours of the war. The drone dropped a thermobaric RPG warhead on the tank, and as a result, the fuel fumes that were being released by the engine (at the front) ignited. As far as I am aware, the tank kept on rolling. By the way, the Trophy system can intercept the drones; it's only a matter of tuning the system's sensitivity. Since drones move slowly, tuning it too much might result in the system not distinguishing between, say, birds and drones.
@@duckey599 we are actually firing less artillery projectiles now. The army moved to "munitions economy" to preserve munitions. In general since the war in Ukraine artillery projectiles are hard to come by.
@@duckey599Unfortunately, they exploit civilian infrastructure, which doesn't leave us a lot of choice but to flatten shit. Regarding your previous question, it really depends on the target. If the guys on the ground require an artillery barrage, the artillery will fire. If they need air support, air support it is. But in general, there is an effort to try and conserve munitions.
Hi simon. I like your videos and watching you since your days in visual politics. I am an israeli tank soldier. I fought with a merkava 4 in gaza and in Lebanon. I will be more then happy to talk with you about information which is not classified. I don't know how much you trust me as a source of information, but if you want to contact me and ask questions i will be happy to help. May all wars will end soon and the hostages will come back home.
שמע לא יודע אם זה רעיון טוב אחי אתה לא יודע איזה אנשים צופים בערוץ שלו ויכול להיות שמישהו ינסה לאתר אותך וינסה לפגוע בך בגלל שאתה ישראלי וחייל בצהל.... אומר לך את זה בתור חייל😂
Note about the M-113 "Zelda" shown at 9:28. There are a lot of claims from both sides, that they have been used as mobile anti building vehicle. Basically you put a few hundred Kg of explosive inside and rig the vehicle to operate remotely.
The IDF is very transparent about the death toll of the soldiers and which unit they came from. If you check, you will see a low casulty rate in the tanks, which shows how good these tanks and the IDF armored core is
the idf is "transparent" ! they lie about everything possible, starting 90 years ago, when they were still amateur terrorists... They lied and fabricated and did coverups on Oct 7, didn't tell how many Israelis were killed by Hannibal direction 'rescues', how many Israelis were 'burned alive' by rocket fire from Apaches, how many were killed by tank fire, how many "civilians" were actively-serving idf. "transparent"? talking about how successful a tank is against what? there are no other tanks, no ifv's, and they are supported by billions of dollars of USA tacpayers' money, and the best and biggest USA and German weapons... it's not even "urban warfare", it's invasion of heaps of rubble, where the resistance forces have been blockaded, and starved, and bombed, and shelled. So, really, not any kind of test of merkava against any other modern tank, or even against a force with logistics and readily available modern weapons.
no goverment agency has ever lied or produced fake numbers either, nevermind a country partaking in the genocide of a people and who are trying to cover it up. So theres no chance that what the IDF mentions isnt accurate.
The only two Merkava that got destroyed ever are in 2006, The merkava in 7\10 mentioned got repaired in two weeks and got back to service to fight in gaza. Especially since it got a priority for being famous now. I know it because it is in my regiment and I knew the crew that was kidnapped, the allegations about the tank not being prepred for combat are probably true since the maintenance unit members probably didn't believe at the time any combat would actually happen so as usually happens in peace times ,without any induction a war will breakout, wanted to save in working hours and money allocated to the unit incase a suprise exercise would happen (and they often did) or they were told to prepare the tank for fighting suddenly
Wonderful surprise to see a quick cameo from Jonathan Ferguson (Keeper of firearms and artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK, which houses a collection of thousands of classic weapons from throughout history)!
The Merkava was never meh. It's been a world leader in urban and short range desert combat. It could not compete with an Abraams or a German Leopard in the kinds of jobs they fulfill for Europe and the US but it doesn't try to. It's second to none in the world where it counts, and that's in the kind of warfare you'd find in the Middle East. Btw, these days, the above Abraams and Leopard are equipped with Israeli tank tech, most famously the Trophy APS. The Germans also bought Israeli Spike missiles and Iron Domes as they're the top in their own fields.
I never understood these assessments, you cannot say the tank is a world leader in anything because it’s never been tested against any sort of capable resistance, let alone a peer adversary. This is the same thought process that made the Russians think Ukraine would be a cakewalk after Syria and has led the US into complacency after Iraq. Accurate analysis is the only way you actually can determine your strengths and weaknesses and improve, but it seems as though people think it’s more fun to be self congratulatory in the absence of any evidence beyond using 21st century combined arms against malnourished irregulars.
Also the British Challenge has the trophy now And Rafael - the maker of trophy - Is deeply involved in the design and engineering of the turret of the challenger 3
the Israelis were also the first ones to bring reactive armor into reality after working with the scientist who thought of the idea but was rejected by other military armies.
as someone who know a tank operator in gaza, he told me he saw dozens going back into israel for repairs, some come back in weeks some wont come as fast due to repairs. i guess you can consider them destroyed if u like, or immobilized if you wanna be more correct, he couldnt recall a complete destroyed one though. hes in the recent few months were at Lebanon which he doesn't recall any damage to any tanks beside some that flipped cause of the terrain.
many were also fixed on the spot in the south in makeshift workshop. you can consider your logic and brain destroyed too. facts are words and tilt it to biased alternate reality is sad unless we're in a snowflake comprised college in the US where boys and girls are eager ready to be bent over for rape and beheading. it's like a car crash man don't rocket science it. if you crashed your car and bob the builder in the garage sais it's fed you totaled it- it's destroyed. if you can repair it in hours it isn't. and if a soft soccer play slips on the field and whine about leg due to terrain, you can't claim it as foul by the other team.
Correct. We stopped using those as frontline personnel carriers a long time ago. If you see one of these on the frontline, it's being remotely controlled.
0:35 - Chapter 1 - Background 2:15 - Mid roll ads 3:45 - Chapter 2 - Current performance 10:40 - Chapter 3 - The one that was destroyed 14:55 - Chapter 4 - The future
Yup, there is only one confirmed destroyed tank from about 2 weeks ago, not sure where though, like Lebanon or Israel. Most likely a 2 thousand pound bomb that was dropped by israel and not exploded got rigged into an IED and the tank went over it
@@iz723 Also certain people tend to boast a ton about guerrillas because they're "going against the establishment" and any sort of victory is big for them.
In recent operations, the Merkava tanks have demonstrated their effectiveness in urban warfare scenarios within Gaza. The combination of robust armor, advanced targeting capabilities, and active protection systems has allowed these tanks to navigate and operate in complex urban terrains, providing critical support to ground forces and contributing to mission success.
We must take into account several factors, its not just the tank itself: 1. Trophy APS can now be found on US abrams, German leopards and soon others as this an add-on for many western tanks. 2. The new tactics that the IDF employees in Gaza and now in Lebanon of combining Tanks, Infantry and engineering workings together as an organic force in the brigade or battalion level, is the true marvel, in Ukraine the Russian tanks were hunted down by ATGM squads while the Infantry were hiding inside their APC... the IDF uses them to cover each other's back
I'm a former tank loader of the merkava mk3 main battle tank. I was in northern Gaza, from jabaliya to beit hanoun and beit lahiya. The tank works just fine. Are there better tanks out there? Sure, the Abrams 2 and challenger 2 come to mind. But i wouldn't go to war without the merkava.
Abrams/Challenger/Leopard are designed for different missions compared to Merkava. Believe me- we Abrams Tankers are horribly jealous of y’all having your own dismounts on board, and that spaceship/flying saucer turret is chef’s kiss sexy. God bless y’all. Treat ‘em Rough!
You got to double check these stuff before uploading! 1) As another comment said the thing that did such a huge damage on the 23rd of Jan was the explosive laid out for houses demolition and people not following procedures, not a "perfectly laid trap" 2) Personnel casualties in armored corps in IDF is really easy to follow, every death is announced and published with full name, unit and rank so you can even distinct commanders and soldiers. 3) The one tank that got destroyed segment is a bit off, yes the tank was probably not combat ready 100% from what I heard(I heard about engine issues) but the stuff about the turret cap being on isn't relevant(you can shoot it off safely by design) also the trophy system comment is not really anything because that's how it supposed to look like when active(this is a defensive layer that opens automatically). Other than that I couldn't find anything else that felt inaccurate. The big reason you can't find any destroyed tanks is because of a lot of tactics and tools out there to rescue personnel and tanks outside and an incredible tank repairmen personnel that repair stuff at top speed.
I am 100% sure that his team doubles and triple checks before uploading, thanks for your extra insight. Needless to say that "You got to double check these stuff before uploading!" is kind of an unnecessary finger-wagging to a team that is a true exception for their dedication, professionalism and balance.
Thanks Simon. Just a friendly give-away re: on of the sources you quote... Al-Mayadeen is a Beirut-based pan-arabic media, reportedly founded by a cousin of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and a string of non-identified Iranians, financed by the Iranian regime and close to the terrorist group Hezbollah. It broadcasts in Arabic, English and Spanish (confirming Iran's and Hezbollah's penetration in South America and Spain... see sleeper cells, terrorist activities and political influence). Without knowing all this, even the wording of the cited article is biased, using IOF instead of IDF. To sum it up, al-Mayadeen is nothing close to a simply biased news outlet, but rather a propaganda tool for anti-west and antisemitic dictators, regimes and terrorist organizations. Cheers
@Pidot31415 ...so, do you support the genocidal dictatorship in Syria, backed by the Iranian regime and the Wagner group (600,000 killed and counting)...? Likewise, do you support the Iranian regime that imposes sharia and makes life unbearable for women and minorities, is bent on destabilizing the region and the west, and seeks to obtain a nuclear weapon to obliterate Israel, with millions of Jews, Muslims, Christians, others, the holy sites, etc...? Then, do you support an extremist confessional terrorist group, Hezbollah, that occupies the south of Lebanon, and has kicked out the once majority Christian population? Speaking of occupation, do you not consider Hamas to be the occupying entity in Gaza? If yes, then it is not the IDF. Otherwise, if Hamas has not been occupying Gaza, then we have to surmise that the Palestinian population accepts Hamas and its policies, therefore agrees with its genocidal/suicidal attack of 7 October... thus the population is also a belligerent party and collaborates with Israel's enemy. At that point, the whole fear of "genocide" or claims of "disproportionality" make no sense.
@@Pidot31415 even if i agree with you on the occupying and genocide claim, Al mayadeen is still clearly biased because it seemed to have no reports on the over 1 mil casulties in Syria, some who were killed and starved to death by non other than the lebanese iran backed shiite militia, aka Hezbollah. so no, they are very biased and never once reported on any wrong doing by any of the iran proxies.
@@jabbathetrump I spend all day refuting, I didn’t bother with you because we both know your opinion isn’t gonna change, go on tho king. Can’t wait for you to tell your kids you were on the wrong side of history.
The tank that was damaged on the 7th of October was repaired and is now in active duty. The modular design of the Merkava helps alot in it's repairability.
At 2:07, the picture of an allegedly Merkava tank flipped on its side in Lebanon. It's not. That's a Magach 7C (essentially an upgraded Israeli version of the American made M60 tank), and that picture was taken in the Judea and Samaria region after the tank was driving on a sloped hill, lost its grip and tipped over. I know that because this tank belonged to my battalion, which was one of the battalions of the 500th Brigade. Get your facts checked please.
What being destroyed means is more complicated than you'd think. The vast majority of seriously damaged ones can still be repaired. I personally saw one burn completely due to an engine fire (an old merkava 3). As for the APCs im sceptical if they were taken out by fire, those things are so old and hated, more likely they broke down and the crew simply abandoned and set them on fire. They really aren't worth the trouble to recover
@ogKoral that happens to Russian tanks, most are designed so if the ammo explodes (a cook off) the force of the explosion will direct out of the hull. Russian tanks aren't designed that way, so you get the turrets blasting off like a toy
I mean, one thing to consider, i guess, is that tanks that would be considered "destroyed" by the US would be fixable by Israeli standards. I mean, they made it, they know how to fix it, and it's not like they need to ship it across half the globe to get them to a repair facility. Its like, what? A couple hours drive on a truck?
Regardless of whether or not your analysis of the evidence you found is correct (I'm at least inclined to agree), I truly enjoyed the feeling that I got when I realized how much effort your team put into trying to find the unvarnished truth. Thanks for the great work!
OOOOOOOH! Aloha has left his Snackbar some time ago... something about the Jews being too damned SCARY! That's why the Snackbarites scream all the the time - Snackbar just ain't listening!
I won't speak for everybody else, but you definitely bought a metric fuckton of credibility with me with your caveats. I'm looking forward to part two!
11:20 the tank main gun was sealed, there are a number of videos showing from different angle showing the main gun sealed. Which means this tank wasn't even in combat mode when it was attacked. Attacking a parked tank in base is not the same as attacking a combat ready tank.
I heard an interview with a tank team in Hebrew that was hit with a drone-dropped RPG head. I don't know if it was the one in the video here. They said it disabled the engine, but they could still use the turret for some time and kill any enemy that came close. When it stopped working because they lost power, they left the tank and were picked up by a different crew. After the war, Hamas will not be thinking of new ways to destroy tanks because they will not exist.
Newest one called the Barak or Mk 5 is insane.. He should have gone into the systems sensors for situational awareness as I beleive they also have radar for detecting whos basically shooting at them. My words don't express how easy the systems seem to be inside. Reminds me of a video game. Sad they didn't talk about that one, but I think they only have a few, and are testing them.
@@dianapennepacker6854 The latest Merkava has Iron vision 360 degree vision viewing outside of the tank. Which means creeping up to tanks and placing explosives on the tank will be near impossible as more of these later version Merkava tanks are produced. As for the radar for detecting where the shots came from is already operational for quite a number of years.
Yup, Merkava is *very* specialized for the IDF's requirements and projected use environments. Which are *very* tightly specific to Israel's situation, location, climate, and terrain. Very good for the IDF. Mediocre or worse for most nation's requirements (even, say Egypt or Syria). Just like the M1A2 is very good for the US or Poland, but would be an abysmally stupid choice for, say, Indonesia or China (even if they could realistically actually get all the M1A2 Abrams they decide they needed).
The only videos of actually destroyed tanks were the ones from the 7th of October that weren't even manned in most cases, or were hit by a drone or of tanks that weren't prepped for combat.
Didn't y'all post the pics of one destroyed by a "super ied" yesterday with all crew dead part from the driver? Fact check yourself you lazy war criminal 💀
Go back in history... the story of the UK Chieftain tank that was initially co developed with Israel, than the Israelis were kicked out and the tank was eventually sold to Israel enemies among few others... this was the trigger for the Merkava development
The Merkava would’ve been created either way, the Chieftain while a formidable tank would’ve still been constrained diplomatically by the UK. Israel needed a domestic tank that it could use without constraints by foreign powers so the Merkava would’ve been made in the end. Seeing how the UK took its stances I doubt they would allow Israel to use the Chieftain in anything but defensive operations within Israeli territory.
@dannyzero692 I agree that diplomacy would sooner or later push for this, the Chieftain story only made it sooner, Israel upgraded almost everything in its huge Centurion tanks fleet to prolong its life until Merkava was ready, Israel knew it couldn't relay on Britain and France for main battle platforms anymore, so now they produce their land armured vehicles domestically, aquire US made air platforms and use German made navel platforms
Almost all of those videos you see in the Arab media of "successful" RPG hits on Merkava's and Namers are in fact successful Trophy interceptions exploding the missiles before even reaching the vehicles.
Key points about that Merkava where the crew was captured. 1. *Any* MBT is vulnerable to fairly lightweight man carried antitank rockets, if you hit them in the *tracks* . I don't care *what* tank you're talking about - knocknout one side's tracks, and you've basically immobilized the tank, wven if nothing else on the tank ends up damaged. It's like taking one wheel off your car. The problem is, even without modern anti-rocket defenses, hitting an AFV in the tracks isn't an easy shot to make on purpose. 2. Immobilized tanks without friendlies able to protect them are exceedingly vulnerable to unfantry walking up and laying satchel charges in highly vulnerable points. After all, the tank isn't moving anymore. 3. The Merkava *deliberately* was designed with the engine and trasnmission up front. This was done *expressly* for crew survivability, even though it exposes the drivetrain to likely enemy fire (which is why most other MBTs have the engine & transmission in the *back* ). This powerpack position not only means there is simply more metal between the crew and the enemy in front, it allows the rear hatch arrangement found on the Merkava for resupply while in a hull down position, or crew evacuation while shielding the crew from fire coming from the front. This also means it is easier for enemy forces to damage the engine and start fires.
I saw the cut away from the side armor ....its actually amazing its not solid its a series of interlocked plates ...gives it rigidity & flexibility at the same time ...i never saw any other tank built like that
It's typically not done because a solid plate is harder to penetrate for the same weight/thickness. It's one of the tradeoffs Merkava makes in specializing in urban warfare, I think.
The destroyed tank looks like it was under tow. Maybe it had suffered earlier damage before being set upon? It would explain how infantry, in what looks like an open area managed to take the crew.
I guess army chief of staff Herzi Halevi was wrong when he told Israel's supreme court they were short on tanks. Being repairable "in theory" isn't the same thing as being repaired in practice.
Short on *available* tanks. The IDF said that most IDF tanks are currently deployed or under repair, so there are not enough spare tanks to launch a new training program. It does not mean that tanks were destroyed or heavily damaged.
That Merkava being destroyed on Oct. 7th makes a lot of sense. Their muzzle cover is still on. They never got a chance to return fire. They got caught by a surprise attack while unsupported by friendly infantry allowing hostile infantry to close with the tank. This is basically a death sentence for ANY tank. If a tank is alone with no supporting infantry or even another tank, then it has no one to "watch it's back" so to speak. Sure, the cameras might allow the crew good all-around visibility, but the gun can only point in ONE direction at a time. You can also see that it is RIGHT outside the border wall, like, RIGHT there. It would have been one of the first things Palestinians attacking across the border encountered and they likely had little to no warning. Placing an RPG warhead ontop of a tank is pretty much worthless. Anti-tank RPG warheads don't do damage by exploding outwards. They deal their damage by projecting a cone of molten copper in a VERY finite line directly ahead. Placing an RPG warhead ontop of a tank is likely to give the crew a brief moment of tinnitus and a good laugh when they get back to base because you just wasted a perfectly good RPG due to incompetence. Using RPG warheads like this just shows how desperate HAMAS has become. They don't have fighters well trained enough to realize that this is worse than useless and they're just resorted to wasting ammo for a good TikToc Allahu Akbar video.
How hilarious were those videos by Hamas saying Israeli tank destroyed just bc it shows a fighter hitting one wire with a RpG, with the hope that to ill informed people who don’t know much about war and military stuff wouid believe that the tank was destroyed, not never actually showed the tank destroyed, bc the fighter has to haul ass after he fires that rocket, and Israel specifically designed the tank to withstand rpg hits, and the survival of the tank crew is the.most important, bc they can allways build another tank
Almost all of those videos you see in the Arab media of "successful" RPG hits on Merkava's and Namers are in fact successful Trophy interceptions exploding the missiles before even reaching the vehicles. The only videos of actually destroyed tanks were the ones from the 7th of October that weren't even manned in most cases, or were hit by a drone or of tanks that weren't prepped for combat.
Help me understand, you people in the comments- If you’re not Palestinian neither Israeli, how can you speak so confidently and so unquestionably about other nation’s life and death. Even as an israeli I find it hard to understand what’s going on. How the f@@ can a European, american or saudi man can express an opinion like that, like it’s some kind of a game that everyone can speculate and bet on.
As an American, I stay far away from the debate simply because I lack enough information to make an impartial decision on what is happening. It's ultimately a horrible situation for both sides though
Pronunciation issue: Merkava is pronounced in Hebrew with a long "e" - so the "mer" is the same as in "mercat". This is the biblical Hebrew word for chariot.
The fascination with Merkava is sign of maniacal approach by Israels enemies for killing Jews. The other approach is Russia that now lost its initial army and going on round 3 and 4 with old Soviet gear.
If you want something done right, ask the Israelis or the Ukrainians. Because they’re the only countries in the world who have been able to battle test their equipment. Certainly don’t ask the Russians. Because all they can do is tell you what doesn’t work.
@ it was all over social media on 10/7/2023 and shortly after. Most of it has been taken down since then but I’m sure you can still find it somewhere. They were poking the dead with long sticks and dragged them out lifeless.
Against forces that lack modern AT capabilities the Merkava is a good tank, but put the Merkava against Javelin, C2s, Leopards or 155 artillery and the Merkava, which is more medium tank, would be shown wanting.
the merkava is not made to fight in theory's, its made specifically for lebanon and gaza. and any of the tanks you mentioned would be horrible in those situations compared to a merkava.
there is rad video of a merkava, i think its a mark 3, with some rad tank driver ramping it off a hill :) getting air. really sweet. the merkava is a purpose designed mbt, and nearly an APC. i like it, but i have never been in one
Good disclaimers, but I worry it is just too early to be able to put together much of a presentation on this. It would have been more interesting to go through all the known reasons the information is so limited and unreliable. That was almost half of what this was anyway. Might as well have dived deeper on that instead of trying to present loose guess conclusions about the tank.
Honestly, i feel spoiled on here. Every other channel has ads turned to max. An ad every 2-4 minutes. I'm so thankful we don't have that ad hell that I watch the sponsored ad
This was a pretty accurate video all around 👍👍 I would suggest that next time you do a video regarding the idf and its equipment try “fact-checking” it with an Israeli that that knows Hebrew preferably that served in a combat unit because a lot of the small things that you have a very hard time finding any data on in English are common knowledge Is Israel or in the idf For example the destroyed tank that you had a though time finding information on is one of the famous stories of that awful day and instantly recognizable to most Israelis The crew that manned the tank fought to keep as many terrorists from crossing to Israel at two or three points along the border for hours alone. There are a lot of articles and documentaries that talk about this tank crews story in Hebrew. … Lots of small details that would add up much quicker and easier if you try getting your information from guys that speed the language for short :)
Although many tanks were hit, almost all were repaired and back in service, such as in the case of my friend's tank in Gaza. You can't hide tanks being destroyed these days... again lots being hit, doesn't mean destroyed. God bless the IDF
Im wondering if we can modify a few tanks to be anti tank missile proof just to get from point A to B slowly ? Like multiple added layers of outter armor that no known anti tank heavy missile can get through. It could be so wide that it wouldn't make it down any narrow street but it could never be penetrated.. like a bunker on trax.
simon, did you actually use a photo of an overturned m60 as proof the merkava underperformed on 2006? your editors really need to do a better job also, the crew of the one tank that was destroyed, 2 of its crew managed to get away without being caught
@karlosdub because they are Egyptians. Learn basic history, buddy. Hamas invaded Gaza and deposed the democratically elected government. The Gaza Palestinians didn't care as long as they continued terrorism. The west bank Palestinians chose democracy instead and now constantly have to deal with hamas infiltrators.
Let's be honest here, figting sand wizzards with old 70 years old boomsticks ain't the same as fighting regular and modern army... Ofcourse they will be unable to destroy tanks... It's like making a video on how does modern apc do against natives with bows from amazonia ...
So would that make Israeli nuclear weapons illegal, their spying activities illegal and their pager bombs illegal terrorism? Just asking if we wanna be consistent here.
@@ToyJesusLovesTequilla No, it wouldn't. Israel is not a signatory to any agreement that would make them illegal. Nice try, though. Yeah, let's be consistent - and honest & informed. You go first!
@@aaronlol6703 I fought 190 days the last year using merkava 4m. The overlapping is a thing and we use it also to protect vehicles that don't have trophy systems but it helps mainly with them trying to overburden the system with multiple rpgs and only slightly with the short range adaptation. There are countless of angles that open to only one tank from short distances which the overlapping of tanks won't help.
All Mark 3 models as well as earlier Mark 4s serve with the Israeli reservist units. Mark 4M serves as the mainstay of the Israeli standing army tank core. What is intetesting to know - and which you've failed to menrion - is the new and shiney Mark 4MB, sometimes erroneously touted on youtube as Merkave Mark 5, which entered service only a scant few months before the war, then entered the war whilevstill ubdergoing acceptance tests. Any casualty numbers on that one?
Actually they use less and less drones. How do i know? I serve in the idf i wont say how we do it but simply put if anyones uses a drone we can find his location this thec wasnt used in the early stages of the war
None of these RPG warheads are produced in Gaza, painted maybe but certainly not manufactured in Gaza. All that is shipped in from Iran along with all their weapons and equipment. Then hamas makes propaganda videos where they pretend like they are building it in Gaza by stacking up the unpainted(but completely built) RPG’s, sniper rifles and whatever else around some old lathes and mills. The only thing the Gazan Arabs are building in Gaza are the sugar rockets that kill way more Gazans than they ever have Israelis
@AdamAdamHDL not an escape route it's extra defence. All tanks have emergency hatches, and all of them, besides the merkava, have the engine in the rear. Israel is a small country a tank crew is worth way more than an engine. Engines can be replaced easily in hours, fully trained crews take almost a year.
@adamadler5411 Emergency hatches that expose the crew to small arms fire while they're trying to evacuate. Except the merkeva, where the entire crew can escape out the back, covered by the tank itself.
@AdamAdamHDL 1. A tanks' weakest point is its rear 2. You don't attack a tank head on. 3. Emergency hatches are under the turret and cannon. The turret itself gives protection even if flipped. Also, the cannon can be rotated over the emergency hatch, preventing the enemy from opening it... If you think putting an emergency exit in the rear of a tank is a good and safe idea, you don't understand anti-tank warfare.
Tanks and armored personnel carriers have a fire suppression system and some air intake filtration.. smoke should not be a problem if the crew wears a gas mask along with these systems. If one or more components do not work, game over.
Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code WARFRONTS at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: incogni.com/warfronts
Will it protect data from Israel spies and pager attacks?!
Killroy's kuz wuz hur tu.
These make the tanks Russia is using look like those Toyota trucks with the machine guns on them lol
Yeah, but these would sink in the soil in Ukraine. I wouldn't expect it to get 100m from where it started during mud season
Idk Chad made much better use of their trucks than Russia does of their tanks
Those Toyota Trucks are actually incredibly effective tho
I mean, _technically_
My bad. I'll see myself out.
oh yeah and it has full air-conditioning for whole crew i think its the only mtb atm that has full ac xD never been in a tank but i can emagine it can get hot in there
The fact that the IDF has lost so few MBTs speaks just as much about their infantry as it does their tanks. That's why Egypt and SA keep losing tanks.
Also helps that they're fighting children
Yup it's impressive or maybe their enemies are just Shit
SA?
@@SultanofszingSaudi Arabia
Or speaks to the fact the IDF is a US supported military fighting against groups with no real way to combat them. It is the same as look at the Russian Military in Syria. Few losses doesn’t mean you have skill or experience. Just fighting someone or something with no way to fight back
Israel reports all KIA's by name, rank and unit. The info is very easy to find. So far, very few armored core KIA's are listed, so any claims of massive numbers of tanks being destroyed are pretty much unfounded.
A lot of them died when they disembarked... Like the commander of the 401st division that died recently due to anti personal mine 😞
Israel lies so frequently you can't believe anything they say. Then there is the racism, genocide, rape, murder of children, journalist and the direct targeting of hospitals medics and ambulances.
One small point I would make, a tank being destroyed wouldn't necessarily result in the deaths of their crew, so wouldn't be a reliable way to estimate if any tanks have been destroyed.
The only surefire way to verify tank kills is visual confirmation. In the absence of any, assume zero losses.
Israel reports on each fallen soldier, as today the number is 795 and each soldier has it's own page with some basic details, age, unit, rank, division, picture. Yes, the number could be slightly bigger, but the IDF won't publicly declare a new name or number to the press until there is 100% certainty of identification and not before the notification team confirms that close relatives had been notified according to protocol procedures.
@@Icarus07c Beg to differ. "Destroyed" means flipped, turret toss or and/or cook-off - otherwise it's just "damage" and the tank goes on it's merry way. Given the close quarters, any crew escaping from a destroyed tank would be easy pickings for the same RPG toting hero.
The January 23rd explosion was not a "perfectly laid Palestinian trap", it was a building being rigged for demolition which was set off by an rpg. It even says it in the article you have in the video at 5:17.
The main Israeli criticism on the matter was that there were so many soldiers on the premises, particularly ones who weren't involved in rigging said explosives.
A close friend of mine named Omer Neutra was kidnapped from the tank that was destroyed on Oct 7th. On the day of writing this comment he has been a hostage for 406 days. Out of the 4 man crew only Omer and Nimrod Cohen are believed to still be alive. Please pray for their and all other hostages safe return and an end to this horrific conflict.
@@Mandems973nice try Hamasnik
@@Mandems973 You are so brave from behind a keyboard, far far away from the conflict.
You deserve a beeper MF
מקווה שעומר יחזור הביתה בשלום 😢❤
If you’re “at war” he’s a POW not a hostage. And considering your “country’s” actions you should forget about him. 😂
@@Mandems973Seeth Abdul
Ah, honesty as a journalist... thank you for admitting there may be bias from anyone/everyone. I wish the media strove for the excellence your team does.
Thank you for the great content, keep it up!
he isn't a journalist, they are aggregating news orgs to write their essays.
Yes, the disclaimer was very well said and put together. Important and honorable to put it upfront. Thx & kudos, Warfronts.
@@AL-lh2ht websters: a person who writes for newspapers, magazines, or news websites or prepares news to be broadcast. it doesnt say anything about where they get their information making up a part of the definition.
I love this tank very much, second is the abrams tank.
(American moment)
Iraq Is The abrams Graveyard...
There are 2 updates:
1. Merkavas are already in Lebanon, for over a month now. The problem is that most of the elite Hezballah forces did a Sir Robin move and bravely ran away.
2. RAFAEL is already working on a new version of the Tropy system which should work againt threats that are coming from above, like top-down attack missiles and drones.
"brave brave brave sir robin...."🎶😅
great movie
“Bravely ran away”
It’s called luring in the Israelis until they become overextended. They did it in the 80s, they did it in the 90s, they did it in 2006, and now they’re doing it again. Are you stupid?
Did they run away like you did in airports on 7/10 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I even say the tanks didn't all leave Lebanon from the 2000's, We still stayed in the mount dov, I forget what the Lebanese call it.
@@momobuv Sorry mate, I think you are misinformed by propaganda. I have seen those "articles" but it is BS.
At 9:25 the bulldozer wasn't even destroyed. That is just the RPG warhead explosion.
Sinwar was on the receiving end of one of these. Let's ask him...oh, wait.
Sinwar is having a party with his 72 fake virgins.
The tank didn’t kill him, and the incompetent ITF turned him into a war hero, so I think he’s probably not complaining as he died in battle like he promised and not surrounded in a bunker by human shields like Netanyahu every time they sound the alarms in Tel Aviv
Wtf he literally hid in the tunnels for a year under Gazan civilians😂@@ToyJesusLovesTequilla
I get where you're coming from, but I don't think that's funny.
@@nazarakopyantc514 and that's true, but realistically, what are people going to remember?
Hey, IDF reservist here.
Few things:
First of all, I really wouldn't trust anything the Palestinian side is putting out regarding our casualties. According to them, the entire IDF was killed in Gaza and Hamas now controls Jerusalem. I mean, if delusions were strawberries, we would be drinking smoothies right now. On a more serious note, we have very few MBT "casualties." There were some Merkava crew members that either died or were injured, but the numbers aren't high and even the most damaged tanks weren't beyond repair.
Normally, urban warfare would be a death sentence to tanks, but the IDF employs the Merkavas in conjunction with artillery, air support, and most importantly, infantry! One of the reasons why Russia saw such a high number of its tanks destroyed during the early weeks of the war in Ukraine was because tanks moved into urban areas without infantry-a major mistake!
Specifically regarding the lack of munitions you mentioned in the beginning-this was true. At some point, the IDF faced a shortage of tank projectiles-not the anti-tank projectiles, but the anti-building/infantry variety. But this was in the early months of the war. I don't hear about it anymore, so I guess it was resolved. From what I understood, we had those types of projectiles in short supply to begin with since the IDF didn't plan on a full-scale invasion of Gaza. So at some point, the IDF started using the anti-tank projectiles to conserve munitions, but I assume that the issue was resolved.
Regarding the last video you showed, where the drone dropped the projectile on the tank, this happened in the very early hours of the war. The drone dropped a thermobaric RPG warhead on the tank, and as a result, the fuel fumes that were being released by the engine (at the front) ignited. As far as I am aware, the tank kept on rolling. By the way, the Trophy system can intercept the drones; it's only a matter of tuning the system's sensitivity. Since drones move slowly, tuning it too much might result in the system not distinguishing between, say, birds and drones.
is that why they use artillery so much lately?
@@duckey599 we are actually firing less artillery projectiles now. The army moved to "munitions economy" to preserve munitions.
In general since the war in Ukraine artillery projectiles are hard to come by.
@National-explainer oh but what they use as replacement? bombers/fighters?
@National-explainer all i see stuff gets flattened everywhere😅🫡
@@duckey599Unfortunately, they exploit civilian infrastructure, which doesn't leave us a lot of choice but to flatten shit.
Regarding your previous question, it really depends on the target. If the guys on the ground require an artillery barrage, the artillery will fire. If they need air support, air support it is. But in general, there is an effort to try and conserve munitions.
Hi simon. I like your videos and watching you since your days in visual politics. I am an israeli tank soldier. I fought with a merkava 4 in gaza and in Lebanon. I will be more then happy to talk with you about information which is not classified. I don't know how much you trust me as a source of information, but if you want to contact me and ask questions i will be happy to help.
May all wars will end soon and the hostages will come back home.
שמע לא יודע אם זה רעיון טוב אחי אתה לא יודע איזה אנשים צופים בערוץ שלו ויכול להיות שמישהו ינסה לאתר אותך וינסה לפגוע בך בגלל שאתה ישראלי וחייל בצהל.... אומר לך את זה בתור חייל😂
פחות חביבי, מבין למה אבל פחות
Note about the M-113 "Zelda" shown at 9:28. There are a lot of claims from both sides, that they have been used as mobile anti building vehicle. Basically you put a few hundred Kg of explosive inside and rig the vehicle to operate remotely.
It's a remote controlled car bomb.
The IDF is very transparent about the death toll of the soldiers and which unit they came from. If you check, you will see a low casulty rate in the tanks, which shows how good these tanks and the IDF armored core is
the idf is "transparent" !
they lie about everything possible, starting 90 years ago, when they were still amateur terrorists...
They lied and fabricated and did coverups on Oct 7, didn't tell how many Israelis were killed by Hannibal direction 'rescues', how many Israelis were 'burned alive' by rocket fire from Apaches, how many were killed by tank fire, how many "civilians" were actively-serving idf.
"transparent"?
talking about how successful a tank is against what? there are no other tanks, no ifv's, and they are supported by billions of dollars of USA tacpayers' money, and the best and biggest USA and German weapons... it's not even "urban warfare", it's invasion of heaps of rubble, where the resistance forces have been blockaded, and starved, and bombed, and shelled.
So, really, not any kind of test of merkava against any other modern tank, or even against a force with logistics and readily available modern weapons.
no goverment agency has ever lied or produced fake numbers either, nevermind a country partaking in the genocide of a people and who are trying to cover it up. So theres no chance that what the IDF mentions isnt accurate.
*Armored Corps 🤓
wow less than 29 mins since my post was removed, youtube is getting quick with its random deletions haha
No They're Not. They Literally Lie About Everything. You Think Hiding The Death Toll Is Beyond Them?
The only two Merkava that got destroyed ever are in 2006, The merkava in 7\10 mentioned got repaired in two weeks and got back to service to fight in gaza. Especially since it got a priority for being famous now. I know it because it is in my regiment and I knew the crew that was kidnapped, the allegations about the tank not being prepred for combat are probably true since the maintenance unit members probably didn't believe at the time any combat would actually happen so as usually happens in peace times ,without any induction a war will breakout, wanted to save in working hours and money allocated to the unit incase a suprise exercise would happen (and they often did) or they were told to prepare the tank for fighting suddenly
Wonderful surprise to see a quick cameo from Jonathan Ferguson (Keeper of firearms and artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK, which houses a collection of thousands of classic weapons from throughout history)!
The Merkava was never meh. It's been a world leader in urban and short range desert combat. It could not compete with an Abraams or a German Leopard in the kinds of jobs they fulfill for Europe and the US but it doesn't try to. It's second to none in the world where it counts, and that's in the kind of warfare you'd find in the Middle East. Btw, these days, the above Abraams and Leopard are equipped with Israeli tank tech, most famously the Trophy APS.
The Germans also bought Israeli Spike missiles and Iron Domes as they're the top in their own fields.
Exactly.
I never understood these assessments, you cannot say the tank is a world leader in anything because it’s never been tested against any sort of capable resistance, let alone a peer adversary. This is the same thought process that made the Russians think Ukraine would be a cakewalk after Syria and has led the US into complacency after Iraq. Accurate analysis is the only way you actually can determine your strengths and weaknesses and improve, but it seems as though people think it’s more fun to be self congratulatory in the absence of any evidence beyond using 21st century combined arms against malnourished irregulars.
Also the British Challenge has the trophy now
And Rafael - the maker of trophy - Is deeply involved in the design and engineering of the turret of the challenger 3
the Israelis were also the first ones to bring reactive armor into reality after working with the scientist who thought of the idea but was rejected by other military armies.
Arabs in the comments losing their mind RN
Arabs lost their minds a long time ago
RPGs and ATGMs make the diaper army lose their mind everyday
@@AmateurRider275 A*abs lost their minds a long time ago
Genocide is bad
Ya bcz this baldy is blind to see hundreds of videos of markhva getting toasted.
as someone who know a tank operator in gaza, he told me he saw dozens going back into israel for repairs, some come back in weeks some wont come as fast due to repairs. i guess you can consider them destroyed if u like, or immobilized if you wanna be more correct,
he couldnt recall a complete destroyed one though.
hes in the recent few months were at Lebanon which he doesn't recall any damage to any tanks beside some that flipped cause of the terrain.
Since they where able to move and theoretically still able to fire and cause damage I wouldn't call those destroyed
many were also fixed on the spot in the south in makeshift workshop. you can consider your logic and brain destroyed too. facts are words and tilt it to biased alternate reality is sad unless we're in a snowflake comprised college in the US where boys and girls are eager ready to be bent over for rape and beheading. it's like a car crash man don't rocket science it. if you crashed your car and bob the builder in the garage sais it's fed you totaled it- it's destroyed. if you can repair it in hours it isn't. and if a soft soccer play slips on the field and whine about leg due to terrain, you can't claim it as foul by the other team.
There’s a specific definition to the military term ‘destroyed’. Look it up.
Don't forget that the Merkava has modular armor that allows the tank to be repaired easily and quickly
The wreckage of the M113 APC is not due to Hamas actions, rather than the IDF uses them as a booby-trapped vehicle.
Correct. We stopped using those as frontline personnel carriers a long time ago.
If you see one of these on the frontline, it's being remotely controlled.
0:35 - Chapter 1 - Background
2:15 - Mid roll ads
3:45 - Chapter 2 - Current performance
10:40 - Chapter 3 - The one that was destroyed
14:55 - Chapter 4 - The future
Hold up, not one!? After all this time?! In an urban war?!
Yup, there is only one confirmed destroyed tank from about 2 weeks ago, not sure where though, like Lebanon or Israel.
Most likely a 2 thousand pound bomb that was dropped by israel and not exploded got rigged into an IED and the tank went over it
You do realise they're not fighting an army
@@iz723 Its quite a big militia still
@@iz723 Also certain people tend to boast a ton about guerrillas because they're "going against the establishment" and any sort of victory is big for them.
Technically wrong. There is at least 1 Merkava 4M Barak that has been confirmed to be totally destroyed
In recent operations, the Merkava tanks have demonstrated their effectiveness in urban warfare scenarios within Gaza. The combination of robust armor, advanced targeting capabilities, and active protection systems has allowed these tanks to navigate and operate in complex urban terrains, providing critical support to ground forces and contributing to mission success.
We must take into account several factors, its not just the tank itself:
1. Trophy APS can now be found on US abrams, German leopards and soon others as this an add-on for many western tanks.
2. The new tactics that the IDF employees in Gaza and now in Lebanon of combining Tanks, Infantry and engineering workings together as an organic force in the brigade or battalion level, is the true marvel, in Ukraine the Russian tanks were hunted down by ATGM squads while the Infantry were hiding inside their APC... the IDF uses them to cover each other's back
Also the next upgrade of the challenge of tank - challenger 3 - will include the trophy
I'm a former tank loader of the merkava mk3 main battle tank. I was in northern Gaza, from jabaliya to beit hanoun and beit lahiya. The tank works just fine. Are there better tanks out there? Sure, the Abrams 2 and challenger 2 come to mind. But i wouldn't go to war without the merkava.
The question is how they stuck to this kind of mission compared to the 4M and 4 Barack
Thank you for your service❤🇮🇱🫡
Would you recommend moving to northern Gaza when it is settled?
Abrams/Challenger/Leopard are designed for different missions compared to Merkava. Believe me- we Abrams Tankers are horribly jealous of y’all having your own dismounts on board, and that spaceship/flying saucer turret is chef’s kiss sexy. God bless y’all. Treat ‘em Rough!
It's a war against women and children. As they account for 70% of the deaths in Gaza. How do you sleep at night...?
@@THCynicalyou guys really don’t help your case with disgusting comments like this.
You got to double check these stuff before uploading!
1) As another comment said the thing that did such a huge damage on the 23rd of Jan was the explosive laid out for houses demolition and people not following procedures, not a "perfectly laid trap"
2) Personnel casualties in armored corps in IDF is really easy to follow, every death is announced and published with full name, unit and rank so you can even distinct commanders and soldiers.
3) The one tank that got destroyed segment is a bit off, yes the tank was probably not combat ready 100% from what I heard(I heard about engine issues) but the stuff about the turret cap being on isn't relevant(you can shoot it off safely by design) also the trophy system comment is not really anything because that's how it supposed to look like when active(this is a defensive layer that opens automatically).
Other than that I couldn't find anything else that felt inaccurate.
The big reason you can't find any destroyed tanks is because of a lot of tactics and tools out there to rescue personnel and tanks outside and an incredible tank repairmen personnel that repair stuff at top speed.
22nd of Jan*
I am 100% sure that his team doubles and triple checks before uploading, thanks for your extra insight. Needless to say that "You got to double check these stuff before uploading!" is kind of an unnecessary finger-wagging to a team that is a true exception for their dedication, professionalism and balance.
How is "from what I heard" your evidence they are wrong?
@@LacRagemNo, that wad the part agreeing with him (The Tank not being battle ready because of engine issues).
@sagoot not my point, what you "hear" is not relevant at all
Thanks Simon.
Just a friendly give-away re: on of the sources you quote...
Al-Mayadeen is a Beirut-based pan-arabic media, reportedly founded by a cousin of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and a string of non-identified Iranians, financed by the Iranian regime and close to the terrorist group Hezbollah. It broadcasts in Arabic, English and Spanish (confirming Iran's and Hezbollah's penetration in South America and Spain... see sleeper cells, terrorist activities and political influence). Without knowing all this, even the wording of the cited article is biased, using IOF instead of IDF. To sum it up, al-Mayadeen is nothing close to a simply biased news outlet, but rather a propaganda tool for anti-west and antisemitic dictators, regimes and terrorist organizations.
Cheers
its not antisemitic if its anti genocide, its not bias when its the truth lol yall are a occupying force not a defense force.
@Pidot31415 ...so, do you support the genocidal dictatorship in Syria, backed by the Iranian regime and the Wagner group (600,000 killed and counting)...? Likewise, do you support the Iranian regime that imposes sharia and makes life unbearable for women and minorities, is bent on destabilizing the region and the west, and seeks to obtain a nuclear weapon to obliterate Israel, with millions of Jews, Muslims, Christians, others, the holy sites, etc...?
Then, do you support an extremist confessional terrorist group, Hezbollah, that occupies the south of Lebanon, and has kicked out the once majority Christian population? Speaking of occupation, do you not consider Hamas to be the occupying entity in Gaza? If yes, then it is not the IDF. Otherwise, if Hamas has not been occupying Gaza, then we have to surmise that the Palestinian population accepts Hamas and its policies, therefore agrees with its genocidal/suicidal attack of 7 October... thus the population is also a belligerent party and collaborates with Israel's enemy. At that point, the whole fear of "genocide" or claims of "disproportionality" make no sense.
@@Pidot31415 even if i agree with you on the occupying and genocide claim, Al mayadeen is still clearly biased because it seemed to have no reports on the over 1 mil casulties in Syria, some who were killed and starved to death by non other than the lebanese iran backed shiite militia, aka Hezbollah.
so no, they are very biased and never once reported on any wrong doing by any of the iran proxies.
@@Pidot31415 You purpousfully ignored literally everything he said. You didn't refute a single point..
@@jabbathetrump I spend all day refuting, I didn’t bother with you because we both know your opinion isn’t gonna change, go on tho king. Can’t wait for you to tell your kids you were on the wrong side of history.
The tank that was damaged on the 7th of October was repaired and is now in active duty.
The modular design of the Merkava helps alot in it's repairability.
At 2:07, the picture of an allegedly Merkava tank flipped on its side in Lebanon. It's not. That's a Magach 7C (essentially an upgraded Israeli version of the American made M60 tank), and that picture was taken in the Judea and Samaria region after the tank was driving on a sloped hill, lost its grip and tipped over.
I know that because this tank belonged to my battalion, which was one of the battalions of the 500th Brigade.
Get your facts checked please.
it is nice to have a video that isn't pure bleakness and doom, thank you for the change of pace
What being destroyed means is more complicated than you'd think. The vast majority of seriously damaged ones can still be repaired. I personally saw one burn completely due to an engine fire (an old merkava 3). As for the APCs im sceptical if they were taken out by fire, those things are so old and hated, more likely they broke down and the crew simply abandoned and set them on fire. They really aren't worth the trouble to recover
I mean let’s be real if the turret gets popped off like a cork I don’t think it’s coming back 😅
@ogKoral that happens to Russian tanks, most are designed so if the ammo explodes (a cook off) the force of the explosion will direct out of the hull. Russian tanks aren't designed that way, so you get the turrets blasting off like a toy
@@BojackHorseman0098 I’ve read and seen photos of the auto loader on some of them, it’s just asking to become a pyro show.
Even us Abrams bros envy the Merkava's escape hatch. I don't if we like bc it's actually useful or bc of its novelty.
It makes for the ultimate battlefield ambulance
Hahaha good to know, we’re jealous of your gear, the hatch is nifty
The IDF have now upgraded the trophy so that such a drone drop can be stopped by it.
I mean, one thing to consider, i guess, is that tanks that would be considered "destroyed" by the US would be fixable by Israeli standards. I mean, they made it, they know how to fix it, and it's not like they need to ship it across half the globe to get them to a repair facility. Its like, what? A couple hours drive on a truck?
Another great impartial presentation. Thanks, Cheers 🥂
2:05 The third picture is not a Merkava tank is a Magach 7 tank i belive
דביר שם יפה
גם נועם שם יפה
Yep you're right. That's a Magach 7C
Was gonna say the same thing
@@jokoyamajoko3525
וואלה ג׳וקו ימאג׳וקו לא שם משהו
As Avery Johnson once said: "They're tough. But they ain't invincible"
Never thought I'd hear Simon utter the phrase "Huffing our own farts".
Regardless of whether or not your analysis of the evidence you found is correct (I'm at least inclined to agree), I truly enjoyed the feeling that I got when I realized how much effort your team put into trying to find the unvarnished truth. Thanks for the great work!
Aloha Snack-bar The Giant Flying Spaghetti Monster is great! Sauce be upon him.🤣🤣🤣
OOOOOOOH! Aloha has left his Snackbar some time ago... something about the Jews being too damned SCARY! That's why the Snackbarites scream all the the time - Snackbar just ain't listening!
A side note...
In war thunder the merkava has one of the best turrets.
If only the hull would be more armoured...
if only the hull had any armor
I knew I’d find warthunder mentioned here lol
@gabrielvigliano8759 👍 i also expected a comment like yours😉
I won't speak for everybody else, but you definitely bought a metric fuckton of credibility with me with your caveats. I'm looking forward to part two!
17:55 HEY! Jonathan Ferguson--keeper of firearms and artillery at the Royal Armouries! Woot!
11:20 the tank main gun was sealed, there are a number of videos showing from different angle showing the main gun sealed. Which means this tank wasn't even in combat mode when it was attacked. Attacking a parked tank in base is not the same as attacking a combat ready tank.
No tank is invincible.
💯
I've seen you in military channels, i've seen you in gacha, and i've seen you in anime.
Just who the f*ck are you?
טוב אחי
Oh look, it is the Ivan-Turtle.
Shift over in Kreml?
I heard an interview with a tank team in Hebrew that was hit with a drone-dropped RPG head. I don't know if it was the one in the video here. They said it disabled the engine, but they could still use the turret for some time and kill any enemy that came close. When it stopped working because they lost power, they left the tank and were picked up by a different crew. After the war, Hamas will not be thinking of new ways to destroy tanks because they will not exist.
The Merkava is designed to do a specific job in a specific environment. It does this superbly…
Newest one called the Barak or Mk 5 is insane..
He should have gone into the systems sensors for situational awareness as I beleive they also have radar for detecting whos basically shooting at them.
My words don't express how easy the systems seem to be inside. Reminds me of a video game.
Sad they didn't talk about that one, but I think they only have a few, and are testing them.
@ yes, I’ve read a little about it.
@@dianapennepacker6854 The latest Merkava has Iron vision 360 degree vision viewing outside of the tank. Which means creeping up to tanks and placing explosives on the tank will be near impossible as more of these later version Merkava tanks are produced.
As for the radar for detecting where the shots came from is already operational for quite a number of years.
Yup, Merkava is *very* specialized for the IDF's requirements and projected use environments.
Which are *very* tightly specific to Israel's situation, location, climate, and terrain.
Very good for the IDF. Mediocre or worse for most nation's requirements (even, say Egypt or Syria).
Just like the M1A2 is very good for the US or Poland, but would be an abysmally stupid choice for, say, Indonesia or China (even if they could realistically actually get all the M1A2 Abrams they decide they needed).
Love Mossads new UA-cam channel and Bot network, learned a lot from the Pentagon
The only videos of actually destroyed tanks were the ones from the 7th of October that weren't even manned in most cases, or were hit by a drone or of tanks that weren't prepped for combat.
Didn't y'all post the pics of one destroyed by a "super ied" yesterday with all crew dead part from the driver? Fact check yourself you lazy war criminal 💀
Ah yes, Warfronts uploads a video about Merkava's while I get to try my first Merkava Mk1B in War Thunder, which is this variant 1:07
Go back in history... the story of the UK Chieftain tank that was initially co developed with Israel, than the Israelis were kicked out and the tank was eventually sold to Israel enemies among few others... this was the trigger for the Merkava development
The Merkava would’ve been created either way, the Chieftain while a formidable tank would’ve still been constrained diplomatically by the UK.
Israel needed a domestic tank that it could use without constraints by foreign powers so the Merkava would’ve been made in the end. Seeing how the UK took its stances I doubt they would allow Israel to use the Chieftain in anything but defensive operations within Israeli territory.
@dannyzero692 I agree that diplomacy would sooner or later push for this, the Chieftain story only made it sooner, Israel upgraded almost everything in its huge Centurion tanks fleet to prolong its life until Merkava was ready, Israel knew it couldn't relay on Britain and France for main battle platforms anymore, so now they produce their land armured vehicles domestically, aquire US made air platforms and use German made navel platforms
Almost all of those videos you see in the Arab media of "successful" RPG hits on Merkava's and Namers are in fact successful Trophy interceptions exploding the missiles before even reaching the vehicles.
YES, its very powerful against unarmed civilians
Key points about that Merkava where the crew was captured.
1. *Any* MBT is vulnerable to fairly lightweight man carried antitank rockets, if you hit them in the *tracks* . I don't care *what* tank you're talking about - knocknout one side's tracks, and you've basically immobilized the tank, wven if nothing else on the tank ends up damaged. It's like taking one wheel off your car. The problem is, even without modern anti-rocket defenses, hitting an AFV in the tracks isn't an easy shot to make on purpose.
2. Immobilized tanks without friendlies able to protect them are exceedingly vulnerable to unfantry walking up and laying satchel charges in highly vulnerable points. After all, the tank isn't moving anymore.
3. The Merkava *deliberately* was designed with the engine and trasnmission up front. This was done *expressly* for crew survivability, even though it exposes the drivetrain to likely enemy fire (which is why most other MBTs have the engine & transmission in the *back* ). This powerpack position not only means there is simply more metal between the crew and the enemy in front, it allows the rear hatch arrangement found on the Merkava for resupply while in a hull down position, or crew evacuation while shielding the crew from fire coming from the front. This also means it is easier for enemy forces to damage the engine and start fires.
I saw the cut away from the side armor ....its actually amazing its not solid its a series of interlocked plates ...gives it rigidity & flexibility at the same time ...i never saw any other tank built like that
It's typically not done because a solid plate is harder to penetrate for the same weight/thickness. It's one of the tradeoffs Merkava makes in specializing in urban warfare, I think.
The destroyed tank looks like it was under tow.
Maybe it had suffered earlier damage before being set upon?
It would explain how infantry, in what looks like an open area managed to take the crew.
12:33 notice the tank's main gun is sealed.
I guess army chief of staff Herzi Halevi was wrong when he told Israel's supreme court they were short on tanks. Being repairable "in theory" isn't the same thing as being repaired in practice.
Short on *available* tanks. The IDF said that most IDF tanks are currently deployed or under repair, so there are not enough spare tanks to launch a new training program. It does not mean that tanks were destroyed or heavily damaged.
There's a reason why people call it "Urban Jungle"
This is not the first war that the Merkava has seen action in…. They seem to be pretty good
We love warographics
Thanks for your honesty
I only know about this tank because of the Forever Winter, as it looks rather sci-fi lol.
That Merkava being destroyed on Oct. 7th makes a lot of sense. Their muzzle cover is still on. They never got a chance to return fire. They got caught by a surprise attack while unsupported by friendly infantry allowing hostile infantry to close with the tank. This is basically a death sentence for ANY tank. If a tank is alone with no supporting infantry or even another tank, then it has no one to "watch it's back" so to speak. Sure, the cameras might allow the crew good all-around visibility, but the gun can only point in ONE direction at a time. You can also see that it is RIGHT outside the border wall, like, RIGHT there. It would have been one of the first things Palestinians attacking across the border encountered and they likely had little to no warning.
Placing an RPG warhead ontop of a tank is pretty much worthless. Anti-tank RPG warheads don't do damage by exploding outwards. They deal their damage by projecting a cone of molten copper in a VERY finite line directly ahead. Placing an RPG warhead ontop of a tank is likely to give the crew a brief moment of tinnitus and a good laugh when they get back to base because you just wasted a perfectly good RPG due to incompetence. Using RPG warheads like this just shows how desperate HAMAS has become. They don't have fighters well trained enough to realize that this is worse than useless and they're just resorted to wasting ammo for a good TikToc Allahu Akbar video.
Last time I was this early the Wright brother had just flown
How hilarious were those videos by Hamas saying Israeli tank destroyed just bc it shows a fighter hitting one wire with a RpG, with the hope that to ill informed people who don’t know much about war and military stuff wouid believe that the tank was destroyed, not never actually showed the tank destroyed, bc the fighter has to haul ass after he fires that rocket, and Israel specifically designed the tank to withstand rpg hits, and the survival of the tank crew is the.most important, bc they can allways build another tank
Almost all of those videos you see in the Arab media of "successful" RPG hits on Merkava's and Namers are in fact successful Trophy interceptions exploding the missiles before even reaching the vehicles.
The only videos of actually destroyed tanks were the ones from the 7th of October that weren't even manned in most cases, or were hit by a drone or of tanks that weren't prepped for combat.
Help me understand, you people in the comments- If you’re not Palestinian neither Israeli, how can you speak so confidently and so unquestionably about other nation’s life and death.
Even as an israeli I find it hard to understand what’s going on.
How the f@@ can a European, american or saudi man can express an opinion like that, like it’s some kind of a game that everyone can speculate and bet on.
As an American, I stay far away from the debate simply because I lack enough information to make an impartial decision on what is happening. It's ultimately a horrible situation for both sides though
The further away you are, the simpler it looks... A known delusion.
Pronunciation issue: Merkava is pronounced in Hebrew with a long "e" - so the "mer" is the same as in "mercat". This is the biblical Hebrew word for chariot.
The fascination with Merkava is sign of maniacal approach by Israels enemies for killing Jews. The other approach is Russia that now lost its initial army and going on round 3 and 4 with old Soviet gear.
If you want something done right, ask the Israelis or the Ukrainians. Because they’re the only countries in the world who have been able to battle test their equipment. Certainly don’t ask the Russians. Because all they can do is tell you what doesn’t work.
11:24 this one is from 10/7 (or 7/10, depending on where you are). They dragged the bodies from within and proceeded to mutilate them. Monsters.
when you treat them like monsters, they become monsters
@@emirbajrektarevic7985oh good so it's not a genocide then
@@interrobangings it’s actually not. The only attempted one was against IL folks.
What? Where did you see that?
@ it was all over social media on 10/7/2023 and shortly after. Most of it has been taken down since then but I’m sure you can still find it somewhere. They were poking the dead with long sticks and dragged them out lifeless.
Against forces that lack modern AT capabilities the Merkava is a good tank, but put the Merkava against Javelin, C2s, Leopards or 155 artillery and the Merkava, which is more medium tank, would be shown wanting.
the merkava is not made to fight in theory's, its made specifically for lebanon and gaza. and any of the tanks you mentioned would be horrible in those situations compared to a merkava.
Some of the "destroyed" pictures you displayed are not Merkava but Magach 7b
Trophy System is engineering genius
I definitely don’t want to see these in war.
there is rad video of a merkava, i think its a mark 3, with some rad tank driver ramping it off a hill :) getting air. really sweet. the merkava is a purpose designed mbt, and nearly an APC. i like it, but i have never been in one
Good disclaimers, but I worry it is just too early to be able to put together much of a presentation on this. It would have been more interesting to go through all the known reasons the information is so limited and unreliable. That was almost half of what this was anyway. Might as well have dived deeper on that instead of trying to present loose guess conclusions about the tank.
Honestly, i feel spoiled on here. Every other channel has ads turned to max. An ad every 2-4 minutes. I'm so thankful we don't have that ad hell that I watch the sponsored ad
2:07 thats not a merkava, thats a Magach 7C, an evolution of the M60. radically different from a merkava
I've seen this tank in the news.. but why does it always appear with a red triangle above it? Anyone know?
... Since Israeli invasion.... I thought Hamas was the one who flew over the Israeli borders first ...
This was a pretty accurate video all around 👍👍
I would suggest that next time you do a video regarding the idf and its equipment try “fact-checking” it with an Israeli that that knows Hebrew preferably that served in a combat unit because a lot of the small things that you have a very hard time finding any data on in English are common knowledge Is Israel or in the idf
For example the destroyed tank that you had a though time finding information on is one of the famous stories of that awful day and instantly recognizable to most Israelis
The crew that manned the tank fought to keep as many terrorists from crossing to Israel at two or three points along the border for hours alone.
There are a lot of articles and documentaries that talk about this tank crews story in Hebrew.
…
Lots of small details that would add up much quicker and easier if you try getting your information from guys that speed the language for short :)
Although many tanks were hit, almost all were repaired and back in service, such as in the case of my friend's tank in Gaza. You can't hide tanks being destroyed these days... again lots being hit, doesn't mean destroyed. God bless the IDF
Do you wear that mask to hide your huge nose?
@@hikingjoe4752Oh boy the nazi has jokes
Im wondering if we can modify a few tanks to be anti tank missile proof just to get from point A to B slowly ? Like multiple added layers of outter armor that no known anti tank heavy missile can get through. It could be so wide that it wouldn't make it down any narrow street but it could never be penetrated.. like a bunker on trax.
simon, did you actually use a photo of an overturned m60 as proof the merkava underperformed on 2006? your editors really need to do a better job
also, the crew of the one tank that was destroyed, 2 of its crew managed to get away without being caught
It's odd to refer to hamas as Palestinians not incorrect but odd
So are all Palestinians hamas even the kids
Why odd they are Palestinians?
@karlosdub because they are Egyptians. Learn basic history, buddy. Hamas invaded Gaza and deposed the democratically elected government. The Gaza Palestinians didn't care as long as they continued terrorism. The west bank Palestinians chose democracy instead and now constantly have to deal with hamas infiltrators.
@@muza8736considering how they indoctrinate them as early as possible?
IDF soldier here, I saw a destroyed Merkava 4
Let's be honest here, figting sand wizzards with old 70 years old boomsticks ain't the same as fighting regular and modern army... Ofcourse they will be unable to destroy tanks...
It's like making a video on how does modern apc do against natives with bows from amazonia ...
Can you make a video on the illegal/undisclosed Iranian nuclear facility israel bombed a couple weeks ago?
“Illegal”
@@adrianislamovic2344 It is Illegal.. There are agreements with Iran that make it so
@@adrianislamovic2344 I’m referring to undeclared Iranian nuclear sites.
So would that make Israeli nuclear weapons illegal, their spying activities illegal and their pager bombs illegal terrorism? Just asking if we wanna be consistent here.
@@ToyJesusLovesTequilla No, it wouldn't. Israel is not a signatory to any agreement that would make them illegal. Nice try, though. Yeah, let's be consistent - and honest & informed. You go first!
Again damage is not destroyed… Ask war thunder players lol
oh yeah and have a medbay to operate or create a new crew member 😅
Who uses pagers these days?...lol. Walkie talkies...haha. Pain in the hip.
Front track drive tank. Say that 5x fast.
I see the Merkava. i click and like.
Meanwhile Europeans be buying Merkava systems like Trophy for their own tanks. Look at what they do not what they say.
Trophy system worked as intended it's just that Hamas adapted accordingly.
That's how technology works you adapt back and forth all the time.
@@aviv657Hamas hasn't adapted accordingly. Most of their ATGMs just fail
@@liam4440 The adaptation was to shoot from shorter distances.
@@aviv657it doesn't work. IDF uses their tanks in layers so the trophy system overlaps for other tanks
@@aaronlol6703 I fought 190 days the last year using merkava 4m.
The overlapping is a thing and we use it also to protect vehicles that don't have trophy systems but it helps mainly with them trying to overburden the system with multiple rpgs and only slightly with the short range adaptation.
There are countless of angles that open to only one tank from short distances which the overlapping of tanks won't help.
All Mark 3 models as well as earlier Mark 4s serve with the Israeli reservist units. Mark 4M serves as the mainstay of the Israeli standing army tank core. What is intetesting to know - and which you've failed to menrion - is the new and shiney Mark 4MB, sometimes erroneously touted on youtube as Merkave Mark 5, which entered service only a scant few months before the war, then entered the war whilevstill ubdergoing acceptance tests. Any casualty numbers on that one?
Actually they use less and less drones. How do i know? I serve in the idf i wont say how we do it but simply put if anyones uses a drone we can find his location this thec wasnt used in the early stages of the war
Yeah.... not gunna support anything else but justice
None of these RPG warheads are produced in Gaza, painted maybe but certainly not manufactured in Gaza. All that is shipped in from Iran along with all their weapons and equipment. Then hamas makes propaganda videos where they pretend like they are building it in Gaza by stacking up the unpainted(but completely built) RPG’s, sniper rifles and whatever else around some old lathes and mills. The only thing the Gazan Arabs are building in Gaza are the sugar rockets that kill way more Gazans than they ever have Israelis
Wasn't the merkava engine placed in the front as it was the only way to fit it in?
The Merkava engine is placed in the front to provide additional crew protection against frontal hits.
@sunshine6522
To provide an evacuation route if the tanks is disabled.
@AdamAdamHDL not an escape route it's extra defence. All tanks have emergency hatches, and all of them, besides the merkava, have the engine in the rear. Israel is a small country a tank crew is worth way more than an engine. Engines can be replaced easily in hours, fully trained crews take almost a year.
@adamadler5411
Emergency hatches that expose the crew to small arms fire while they're trying to evacuate. Except the merkeva, where the entire crew can escape out the back, covered by the tank itself.
@AdamAdamHDL 1. A tanks' weakest point is its rear 2. You don't attack a tank head on. 3. Emergency hatches are under the turret and cannon. The turret itself gives protection even if flipped. Also, the cannon can be rotated over the emergency hatch, preventing the enemy from opening it... If you think putting an emergency exit in the rear of a tank is a good and safe idea, you don't understand anti-tank warfare.
Tanks and armored personnel carriers have a fire suppression system and some air intake filtration.. smoke should not be a problem if the crew wears a gas mask along with these systems. If one or more components do not work, game over.