Over forty years since they entered service in the Israel Defense Forces, old Merkava tanks manufactured in Israel are expected to be sold soon to two foreign armies. One of the countries to purchase the tanks is located in Europe, with some analysts on Israeli news speculating that the undisclosed country is in fact, Ukraine, however, the Judean has learned that Cypress is more likely the nation that is making the purchase.
The US Department of Defense is soon expected to approve the Israeli sale of hundreds of Merkava Mark 2 and 3 tanks that were manufactured in Israel in the 1980s and 1990s and have been decommissioned in recent years, one of them in Europe, against the background of the war in Ukraine and the refinement to which classic armored war vehicles are being re-acquired. This is the first time that Merkava tanks will be sold to a European nation.
Putin Is Angry: Israel’s ‘Powerhouse’ Merkava Tank Could Fight in Ukraine
— Jeffrey Levin 🇺🇦 (@jilevin) June 20, 2023
https://t.co/a7NXlO7x0f
The Ministry of Defense did not specify the names of the two countries that agreed on the purchase of more than 200 used Israeli tanks in light of the sensitivity of the process, but the deal is on the verge of a final signature and is expected to be completed relatively immediately, within about three months. Officials at the Ministry of Defense told reporters that since certain mechanical parts in these tanks are American-made, especially the engine in the older Merkava tanks, approval from the Ministry of Defense in Washington is required to carry out the transaction.
A Merkava tank going through a water obstacle. It seems the video was not taken in Israel 😳 pic.twitter.com/JoLN0qtZBi
— Andrzej Kozlowski (@akoz33) June 19, 2023
According to estimates, the scope of the deal will reach tens of millions of dollars for all the tanks, an amount that will enter the state treasury and will probably be transferred directly to the defense budget. This is an amount that is considered negligible in relation to the purchase of new Western tanks. For the sake of proportion, about a decade ago, the Ministry of Defense offered a foreign army to purchase a new Mark 4 Merkava tank, straight from the production line, for approximately four million dollars per tank.
Additional details indicate that the two transactions will be split. One will include the older Merkava 2 tanks and the other the Merkava Mark 3 that entered service in the nineties and served mainly the soldiers of the 188th Armored Brigade.
'Chariot' On Ukraine Battlefield? Israel Set To Sell Merkava Tank For The First Time Amid Russia War https://t.co/nHtCmnfzXA
— miguel ortiz (@miguelo06655405) June 19, 2023
In recent years these tanks have fallen out of use in Israel and today all 3 non-reservist armored brigades are equipped with advanced Merkava Mark 4 tanks with an active defense system against anti-tank missiles and computerized command and control systems. The first Merkava tanks are the product of the development of Major General Israel Tal and the engineer Israel Tilan. They were produced in Israel in the late 1970s, and their first version, the Mark 1, was integrated into operational activity already in the First Lebanon War in the early 80s.
