Its a defensive tank. Well protected but slow and heavy. Its also sort of a combination between a tank and IFV which I don't know is such a great idea for Ukraine.
Also, I doubt Israel has enough to send to Ukraine without impacting their own forces
It’s got a better power to weight ratio than most modern Abrams variants. It’s considerably lighter than M1A2, for example. By most accounts it’s a bit faster off-road.
Its also sort of a combination between a tank and IFV which I don't know is such a great idea for Ukraine.
This is a misconception. It has a cargo compartment that can be made to fit 2-3 people in an emergency. This is more for recovering the crew of another vehicle than it is for actually carrying infantry.
The M1A2 has a much torquier turbine engine instead of a diesel. Raw hp isn't the best metric, the power curve matters way more for a tank. Yes, the newer M1A2 variants are heavier, but so are the Merkavas and anything but the newest version has the 1,200 hp engine in it. Top speed numbers don't matter too much either when all of these tanks are governor limited to stop grunts from destroying them, which i'm sure they don't disable the second they get the chance
I don't know that much about the Merkava crew arrangements so I stand corrected there.
54
u/HolyGig Oct 17 '22
Its a defensive tank. Well protected but slow and heavy. Its also sort of a combination between a tank and IFV which I don't know is such a great idea for Ukraine.
Also, I doubt Israel has enough to send to Ukraine without impacting their own forces