Israel’s Ministry of Defense recently unveiled a new Merkava main battle tank generation called the Barak.
In a X post, the Ministry of Defense said that equipped with advanced sensors and Artificial intelligence processing, the future tank will further strengthen the Israel Defense Forces’ readiness and capabilities.
The Merkava Barak tank is the result of a five years collaborative effort involving the Armored Vehicles Directorate of the Defense Ministry, the IDF’s Ground Forces, and the Armored Corps, as well as several Israeli defense companies such as Elbit Systems, Rafael, and Israel Aerospace Industries’ Elta subsidiary.
In 2015, the Defense Ministry and military began research into developing a new tank for the Armored Corps, with development beginning in 2018. In 2020, initial tests were carried out, and in recent months, the first tanks were delivered to the IDF.
Following a five-year development process, the Tank and APC Administration in the Ministry of Defense and the IDF reveal the IDF’s future tank: the “Barak.” Equipped with advanced sensors and AI processing, the future tank will further strengthen IDF readiness and capabilities. pic.twitter.com/LdoEXA7kym
— Ministry of Defense (@Israel_MOD) September 19, 2023
The ministry said the Barak tanks are equipped with “a wide infrastructure of reliable sensors” to detect targets, and intelligence information can be shared between the tank and other parts of the military, which will be “a real revolution on the battlefield.”
“The Barak tank will strengthen the capabilities of detecting enemies and will enable fighting against an enemy with a reduced signature and in all combat scenarios, on the current and future battlefield, against the entirety of threats that exist for the maneuvering force,” the ministry said.
The new configuration of Merkava tank is equipped with Elbit Systems’ extensive solutions that include improved sights, advanced night vision capabilities, Fire Control Systems for Main Battle Tanks (MBT), E-LynX Software-Defined Radios (SDR), and the IronVision Head-Mounted Display for 360° situational awareness and advanced operational capabilities, Rafael’s Trophy Active Protection System.
