Sabra Mk.I: Magach’s Final Form

Today we’ll be taking a look at the Sabra Mk.I, a tank that was derived from major upgrades made to the Magach 7 tank, featuring add-on armor modules and a new 120 mm gun!

Sabra Mk.I: A Medium Tank for Israel at Rank VII

At a glance:

  • 120 mm gun similar to the Merkava tanks with a good reload speed!
  • Effective APFSDS shell.
  • Decent protection.
  • Average mobility.

As part of Magach 7C modernization, Israeli company Israel Military Industries (IMI) developed and created a prototype of the Sabra Mk.I MBT in 2002-2005, coming in as a deep and comprehensive modernization of the Magach series of tanks. The main differences of the project were a new 120 mm smoothbore gun, a set of add-on armor elements for the hull and turret, a new fire control system and an electromechanical turret drive. The Sabra program was proposed to Turkey as a possible modernization program for their fleet of M60 tanks. However, the Turkish had counter-proposals that led to further modifications and the construction of a second prototype under the designation Sabra Mk.II.

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Meet the Sabra Mk.I

The Israeli Sabra Mk.I is quite literally the ultimate Magach and will provide an interesting alternative when placed in some high-ranking ground force lineups. It features a very similar gun as the Merkava Mk.3 but at a lower Battle Rating, so let’s take a closer look!

Further development of the Magach 7C led engineers to create the Sabra tank. Just by looks, the turret has a familiar silhouette with add-on armor modules, but most importantly there’s a new gun. This 120 mm smoothbore gun is a very close relative of some of the higher-ranking Merkava tanks and can fire three types of ammunition, including HEATFS, HE-TF and an M322 APFSDS round.

The Sabra’s armor is made using the same technology found on the Magach 7C — it consists of modules of combined armor welded onto the standard steel armor of the M60. However, the layout and composition of this add-on armor differs from the Magach. Some differences include more protection at the front of the turret by the gun mantlet, the upper plate and turret sides. How effective is it though? It’s capable of stopping HEAT based rounds, however kinetic shells will pierce straight through without a problem. Besides this, the dense layout and poor location of ammunition stored internally definitely decrease the survivability of the Sabra once it has been penetrated.

Despite all the above mentioned changes, the engine of the Sabra Mk.I is the same as the Magach 7C. In terms of maneuverability, both tanks are almost identical, meaning the overall mobility of the Sabra is somewhat poor. Don’t fret though, as there’s one more positive. The reload speed of the gun can be as low as 6 seconds on an Ace crew — something the Magach can’t do!

That’s it for today’s blog. The Sabra Mk.I will arrive at rank VII in the Israel ground forces tree in the Firebirds major update and is sure to provide extra firepower thanks to its 120 mm gun. Be sure to check out the news for more dev blogs that we’re currently cooking!

Please note that this vehicle’s characteristics may be changed before it is added to the game.

You can greatly speed up the research of the Sabra Mk.I with this pack:

Merkava Mk.3 Raam Segol Pack

The Kit Includes:
  • Merkava Mk.3 Raam Segol (Rank VII, Israel)
  • Premium account for 20 days
  • 2500 Golden Eagles

69.99 35 (-50% until November 4th)
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9 Likes

Final form until later Sabras come along

7 Likes

yet another Magach . .

1 Like

Nice lineup builder, hoping to see more vehicles in that area later on.

What BR is it on the dev server?

Cool, modernized M60, what about the Leonardo M60? Why doesn’t Italy get it?

4 Likes

Working on Israel now, I have a lot a beautiful unique Magachs to play.

1 Like

9.7

1 Like

B-but there are more modern Magachs :( Sabra 1 isn’t the final one :(((

12 Likes

Magach’s Final Form

The M60 is like a boss in Resident Evil.

2 Likes

TEC getting angry

Looking forward to the Sabra, I will grind it out for sure.

Why? Lol

Interesting how the three modernised M60 sit at 9.7, 10.0 and 10.3 in RB

Didn’t you saw his video about the sabra. He was so mad.
TheEuropienCanadien (TEC)

angry that he needs to spade a 50th magach

I don’t get people who get mad at new content. I would understand if this were a copy pasted Magach and nothing else, but the Sabra is probably the most unique M60 in game along with the 120S and M60 AMBT. It’s a welcome addition.

5 Likes

Why is composite armor less effective than rubber fabric screens in KE effectiveness? Perhaps the protection wouldn’t be just “decent” if that could finally be fixed… like seriously man… rubber fabric screens…

Would also love to have some of these bugs fixed:
Incorrect Side Skirt Material
Incorrect LFP Armor Thickness
Missing Laser Warning System

On top of that, the Sabra Mk.1 uses the BAZ FCS, yet it still retains the Magach 7C’s turret traverse speeds, when it should be more similar to that of the Merkava Mk.3 series. Will this be fixed or should I make a bug report for that? I mean you said it yourselves as quoted above…

9 Likes

He just had a bad experience with the other Magachs. I’m sure he’ll find the Sabra Mk.1 is quite a different beast all together…

I’m really looking forward to this Vehicle!
However out of the Various Magachs I will always love the Hydra. Most players panic the first time one starts shooting rockets at them. :-)

That things so funny. Always love getting players to shoot out my barrel from around a corner, and then they realize what they’ve done >:) (would be so much funnier if they gave it Blazer ERA on its mounting points).