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Israel Plans Loitering Systems on Merkava MBT and Eitan APC

Arie Egozi - : Sep 25, 2024 - : 8:51 pm

The Israeli ministry of defence is about to issue the tender for the development of special versions of existing loitering weapon systems on Merkava 4 main battle tank (MBT) and the Eitan eight wheeled APC, to be deployed by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).

Sources in the Israeli defence establishment said on Sep 24 that while the specifications of the specially designed loitering weapon systems are classified, one thing can be said, “they will have to carry a special warhead to be capable of destroying ‘hard’ targets.” The plan to equip these two advanced armoured ground platforms with loitering weapon systems was made before the war broke out on Oct 7, but the war made the implementation more urgent.

Israeli sources related to the Directorate of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D) in the ministry of defence said the tests with dedicated loitering weapon systems to be deployed on the MBT and APC will begin soon.

Tal Inbar, an Israeli senior defence analyst, said that the need to enhance the tank commander’s field of view is critical. “A loitering weapon system controlled by the commander will enable locating hidden threats and help in destroying them in real time. This is needed in very high priority,”

A number of Israeli defence companies, like Uvision and Aeronautics, have developed very advanced loitering weapon systems that are used by many countries, including the U.S. The ministry of defence was reluctant to share information about the effort. The relevant companies also keep their relevant actions related to the effort under a heavy curtain. Ministry of defence sources that were exposed to the initial phases of the program said that the loitering weapon systems to be carried by a tank or APC will have to be modified to the new mission.

The armored corps of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) has a special unit focused on supplying targets to the tanks in a fighting area. This unit identifies a target and transfers the location to a tank unit. This capability, according to defence sources, is not sufficient in a very dense urban area. “The loitering weapon systems on the armored platforms are aimed exactly to close this gap,” one of the defence sources said.

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