Technically, yes, but the turret is from the Sabrah and is fully functional otherwise. It would be among the least egregious “ahistorical” vehicles in War Thunder.
I get what you’re saying, but there’s an issue here.
Elbit is a rather flexible company, and they offer the Sabrah light tank turret in different configurations. The configuration presented on the Eitan is by all means a mockup, and the one present on the Sabrah light tank is real but quite different. If I remember correctly, the Philippines opted for a turret with STANAG Level 6 protection, a midrange config for the COAPS-L commander optics with simple gunner optics (don’t remember if it’s an Elbit one), and no Iron Fist APS. The mockup presents STANAG Level 4 protection, full-configuration COAPS-L commander optics, and another advanced gunner optic I cannot find info on, as well as Iron Fist APS.
The reason Gaijin does not add mockup vehicles that “the manufacturer totally could’ve made if they wanted to” is because these designs often change when they become real. Take, for example, another Elbit product: the Crossbow 120 unmanned mortar turret.
Initial mockup, features Iron Fist APS, a remote weapon station with a 7.62mm machine gun, and integrated smoke grenade launchers.
Finalized design 2nd design (also a mockup), beefier armor with external smoke grenade launchers and a coaxial .50 cal, but no Iron Fist APS or an RWS.
In the images of the Sabrah light tank, you can also notice the 105mm cannon’s muzzle brake design changing from the mockup to the production version.
Is this not the turret? It has all the bells and whistles.
Yea, it’s 99% a mockup. Looks very plasticky and the muzzle brake looks like the one on the Eitan tested turret
Also, I got it slightly wrong in the last comment. Here’s the true finalized Crossbow 120 design ,now with Iron Fist!
Notice how much bigger the incoming projectile detection radars are. Often in mockups they are much smaller to look sleek, but practicality requires them be bigger.
Also the smoke grenades were moved to the back.
I do not accept the claim without counter-evidence that the Iron Fist-equipped ASCOD Sabrah is a mock-up, as I have not seen any verifiable evidence supporting that description. Elbit presents the APS-fitted version as a purchasable option, and there is no clear indication that it is non-functional. The vehicle was displayed in this configuration at Eurosatory 2022. Additional factors supporting its legitimacy include Elbit’s brochure, which lists the APS variant and describes it as a genuine capability.
Elbit Systems Portfolio of Turrets will be on Full Display During Eurosatory 2022
To add further context, the Brazilian Army specifically addressed the turret in relation to the MSR 8×8 project and the Eitan 105 offer.
Brazilian Portuguese:
“A VBC Cav – MSR 8×8 […] deverá ser no mínimo oriunda de uma Produção Seriada (Inicial ou Consolidada). Não serão analisadas as propostas recebidas referentes às viaturas que se encontram em fase de desenvolvimento (projeto conceitual e/ou protótipo ou lote piloto).”
English translation:
“The VBC Cav – MSR 8×8 […] shall at a minimum originate from Serial Production (Initial or Consolidated). Proposals received referring to vehicles that are in the development phase (conceptual design and/or prototype or pilot lot) will not be analysed.”
As seen above in the statement, the Brazilian Army applied these development-stage labels to the offered Eitan/Sabrah 105 configuration, treating it as either:
- a Conceptual design — a vehicle existing mainly on paper or as digital renderings/CGIs, without a fully built and integrated physical example in the proposed form
- a Prototype — an early physical example built for testing and demonstration, but not yet a mature production-standard vehicle
- a Pilot lot — a small initial batch produced for evaluation and refinement, still short of full serial production
Based on the available sources I could find, the Brazilian Army classified the specific Eitan/Sabrah 105 configuration offered for the MSR 8×8 project as a prototype. Although the base Eitan chassis was entering serial production for the IDF and the Sabrah 105 mm turret was in production for other platforms, the integrated vehicle in the form proposed to Brazil was judged not to have reached the required level of serial production maturity. Despite that judgement, it is obvious that both components are functional. The Eitan APC’s hull is in service with the IDF, and the ASCOD Sabrah turret with Iron Fist is marketed as genuine by Elbit.
Additionally, in May 2021, a Brazilian defense publication described the ASCOD 2 turret found on the Eitan 105 as a project. By June 2022, the ASCOD 2 turret was being featured and marketed as a purchasable configuration, which implies it had reached maturity in development. In September 2022, Elbit’s offer was formally documented, including the illustration that’s commonly seen on the internet and provided here below. Then in October 2022, Elbit was disqualified for offering a vehicle that wasn’t currently in service.
I’m uncertain exactly where the video fits between June and September, but it has to be somewhere in there. The ASCOD 2 turret was already being marketed as purchasable by June 2022 and shown off at Eurosatory, so the turret on the prototype in the video might not be a mockup at all. I couldn’t find a single instance of Brazil directly stating it was a mockup, only that it wasn’t a production vehicle, which is what disqualified it. If anything, all the logic points to it being an unfinished pilot vehicle. Even the gun inside the turret bounces as it moves, the same way it does on other real tanks when they have their guns fixed in place. That alone demonstrates that the ASCOD 105mm L/52 is physically fit inside the turret.
