- Yes
- No
- Researchable
- Premium
- Squadroon
- Event
- I Don’t Know / I Don’t Care
- I Vote NO
- 10.3 or lower
- 10.7
- 11.0
- 11.3 or higher
- I Don’t Know / I Don’t Care
- I Voted NO
Merkava Mk.3C LIC (Trophy MV)
Description:
Merkava Mk.3C LIC (Trophy MV)- Is a technical demonstrator of Trophy (heb. מעיל רוח (meil ruah)), to be exact Trophy MV (Medium Vehicle) designed for light and medium weight (10-30 ton) vehicles, and its basic difference from standart trophy HV (Heavy Vehicle) is that it weights 40% less while maintaining the same efectivness. The vehicle itself is based of Merkava Mk.3B BAZ (aka. Mk.3C) with LIC (Low Intensity Conflict) kit - which is a modifications for urban combat. The tank is fitted with marking poles on the sides of the hull, which assist the commander and driver in movement in narrow streets, Grills and Mettal covers to prevent objects being shoved in to the exhaust, other vents and sights, add-on belly armor and other small additions like reverse cammera for the driver.
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Important to note that this exact vehicle has no connection to Merkava Mk.3M, it is government-provided tank that Rafael received for tests and demonstration of their systems, while Mk.3M was a prototype made by IDF in effort to upgrade it’s Mk.3D (aka. Siman 3 Baz Dor-Dalet) with Meil Ruah APS.
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Another important note, is that Merkava Mk.3C LIC (Trophy MV) may not be correct name for this tech demonstrator, since it is unknown what was the real designation of it. Please if you know what was the official name of it let me know.
History:
The vehicle’s story starts with the development of Trophy APS in the early 2000’, and it didn’t realy had any coverage nor any known designation, as it’s main purpuse was never ment to be a modification of Merkava Mk.3C, but to show how the Trophy would look on a tank.
The Mk.3 chassis was chosen due to the fact that at that time the Merkava Mk.4 was just being put into production, therefore not that many were produced to afford giving some for defence complex. Rafael received the Merkava Mk.3C from the government and tested It’s latest technology with it, along with the Stryker armored personnel carrier purchased from the United States, until both test vehicles were presented for the first time to the public at the LIC military convencion in 2005.
Spoiler
Then demonstrator was shown couple times at the folowing LIC convencions, but then disappeared from a public eye, which probably means that it got dismantled and given back to IDF or kept in storage with Rafael. As of right now the status of this vehicle is rather unknown.
General Information
Firepower:
The firepower is provided by the original Merkava Mk.3’s 120mm calibre smoothbore main gun developed and manufactured by IMI called MG251, capable of firing advanced and powerful munitions of IMI manufacturer, aswell as capable of firing the LAHAT (Laser Homing Attack or Laser Homing Anti-Tank) which is a third generation semi-active laser homing low-weight anti-tank guided missile manufactured by IAI ( Israel Aerospace Industries ). The whole system is stabilized by the two plane stabilizer and the tank is equipped with advanced gunner optics with both day and thermal channels. As this tank is based of Merkava Mk.3 Bet Baz, it has acces to new comander sights with Barak Zoher (BAZ) fire control system that can automatically track targets, even low-flying targets such as helicopters. Not to mention that this tank is also eqipped with numerous amount of machiene guns of various types and calibres.
Main features:
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Main armament - 120mm calibre smoothbore gun MG251
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Secondary armament - x1 12.7, x3 7.62mm Machine Guns and 60mm internal mortar
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Two Plane Stabilizer
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Laser Range Finder
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Advanced Optics (For The Gunner and Commander)
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“Barak Zoher” Fire Control System
Mobility:
The mobility is provided by the original engine and transmission from Merkava Mk.3. Which means that the tank is powered by AVDS-1790-9AR 1,200hp air-cooled diesel engine with the Ashot Ashkelon hydromechanical automatic transmissinon. In the end this tank mobility wise would be identical to the the original Mk.3 because the Trophy MV active protection system add up only 450 kg. That gives it combined weight of 65,450 kg, which accumulates to horsepower to weight ratio of 18.33 hp/t.
Protection:
The basic protection is the same as on the Merkava Mk.3C, the armor is not the best, but its angles and placement of internal modules often save this vehicle from instant destruction, it does a good job of stopping HEAT rounds over the frontal arc, and even (if you’re lucky enought) can bounce off some APFSDS rounds. The Trophy MV active protection system, although lighter than the Trophy HV (that is installed on the Merkava Mk.4M) by 40%, retains the same efficiency, which means it is capable of shooting down incoming missiles and projectiles at speeds up to 1000 m/s. Radars provide 360 degree protection.
The only downside and the biggest one to the compactness of the Trophy MV is that it doesn’t seem to have a space for the reload mechanism like the Trophy HV does (I’m not entirely sure about that), so if that’s true it would mean that the tank only has one charge per side (2 combined). Which is a huge downgrade from HV, which has three per side (6 combined).
Specifications
Dimensions
Length - 7.6m ( 9.04m w/gun forward)
Width - 3.7m
Height - 2.66m
Weight - 65,450 kg
Mobility
Engine - Teledyne Continental AVDS-1790-9AR 1,200 hp V12 air-cooled diesel
Transmission - Ashot Ashkelon hydromechanical automatic
Power To Weight Ratio - 18.33 hp/t
Top Road Speed - 60 km/h
Suspension Type - Helical spring
Road Range - 500km
Firepower
Main Gun - MG251 120mm, calibre Length 44 smoothbore
Secondary Weapons - 1x 12.7, 3x 7.62mm Machine Gun and 60mm internal mortar
Ammunition Storage - x46 (x5 ready to fire in mechanical drum)
Protection
Armor Type - Modular, composite.
LWS- Yes
APS- Yes, Type: Hard Kill, Name: Trophy MV, Horizontal Coverage: 360°, Launches: 2? (6?)
Crew
Commander
Gunner
Loader
Driver
Total - 4
Gallery:
Spoiler
LIC 2005 presentation where the vehicle was shown for the first time.
Front close up
Right side picture, we can see that the radar on the right side is plased next to Launcher itsel unlike on the left side
Two radars at the back mounted on the bustle rack.
Full profile frome the front
Illustration I did a while ago showing how exactly the system is installed on the tank
Live tests of the system on the platform
Conclusions and final words:
Another cool and special domestic Israeli MBT, but little known to the general public compared to others, since this tank is very rare, in the game it’ll be a good material for a squadron or event vehicle for Israel TT, as there are many more well-known vehicles that could be added to the standard tree. The name I used may not be real, but it is based on what this tank includes, and this is due to the fact that the real name is unknown.
Thank you for reading my suggestion trough to the end, If you are interested you can check out my previous suggestions via my profile, as of right now I havent transfered all of my suggestions from the old forum so you can check out them through the links there.
And as always if you noticed any mistakes or have any helpful sources, please let me know and I will make necessary corrections.
Sources: