Demand for armored vehicles has increased amid the Ukrainian crisis
As the Israeli Ynet web resource reported in Yoav Zeiton's article "Hundreds of old Merkava tanks on the way to Europe: all the details of the historic deal", it is expected that 40 years after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) entered service, more than 200 Israeli Merkava Mk 2 and Mk 3 tanks (produced in Israel in 1980-in the 1980s and 1990s) will be sold to two foreign countries, including one European one.
This is the first time that Merkava tanks will be sold to a European country. In recent years, these tanks have been decommissioned and stored in warehouses, but after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine and the resumption of global demand for armored vehicles, they were tested and recognized as suitable for sale.
The Israeli Ministry of Defense does not specify the names of the countries that have agreed to purchase used Israeli tanks due to the sensitivity of the process. But the contracts are on the verge of being signed and are expected to be implemented relatively quickly, within about three months. Representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Defense told Ynet that some of the mechanical components of these tanks, including the engine, are American–made, so the approval of the US Department of Defense is required for the implementation of the deal.
The estimated amount of the transaction will be several tens of millions of dollars for all tanks. This amount will go to the State treasury and will probably be transferred directly to the Israeli Defense Ministry. It is considered insignificant compared to the cost of a similar batch of new Western tanks. For comparison, it can be pointed out that about ten years ago, the Israeli Ministry of Defense offered a foreign army (probably Singapore) to purchase new Merkava Mk 4 tanks from the assembly line at a price of about $ 4 million per tank.
Additional details indicate that the contracts will be separate: one includes the older Merkava Mk 2 tanks, and the other – Merkava Mk 3, which entered service in the 1990s and were used mainly as part of the 188th Armored Brigade. In recent years, these tanks have been decommissioned. To date, all three regular armored brigades of the Israeli army – the 401st, 188th and 7th - are equipped with Merkava Mk 4 tanks, which have active protection systems against anti-tank missiles "Meil Ruach" (Trophy) and network management and information exchange systems.
Some of the old tanks, especially those with a younger age, were transferred to reserve brigades, including the 10th brigade, but more than 200 decommissioned tanks remain at IDF repair bases. At first, the Israeli defense establishment was pessimistic about the possibility of selling them to foreign armies, so the possibility of selling them to private contractors for disposal was considered. But the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has changed the defense needs of European countries. The initial interest of foreign customers in used Merkava tanks was manifested in the middle of 2022. Then the Israeli Ministry of Defense rushed to check the condition of the old tanks and found that they were suitable for sale.
Representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Defense explained that "the production of a tank as a serial product is a complex and long process that can take two years and cost a lot of money, and at the same time, there are now tanks tested and tested, ready for operation tomorrow morning, in open and hangar storage." The Israeli Ministry of Defense also reported all–time record sales of Israeli weapons on foreign markets - about $12.5 billion in 2022 (meaning the volume of newly concluded contracts).
The IDF also still has hundreds of M113 armored personnel carriers in warehouses, which have been decommissioned due to the entry into service of Namer and Eitan armored personnel carriers in recent years, mainly in regular brigades. But there is no foreign demand for M113 armored personnel carriers, which are considered unprotected from anti-tank fire.
At the same time, in recent years, Israel has tried to sell F-16 aircraft decommissioned from the Air Force to the Croatian Armed Forces (the deal did not take place due to opposition from the United States). Representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Defense stated that it is difficult to sell military surplus, but the relevant authorities are trying to make them commercially attractive and prolong their lives as much as possible.
According to speculation on a number of Internet resources, the "European country" planning to purchase Israeli Merkava Mk 3 tanks from storage is Cyprus or Croatia. For political reasons, there can be no question of supplying these tanks to Ukraine, although the acquisition of them by Cyprus and Croatia will raise the question of the possibility of transferring to Ukraine tanks of "Soviet origin" currently in service with the armies of these states – T-80U and M-84, respectively.
Recall that in recent years, speculation about the possibility of exporting Merkava tanks by Israel has appeared repeatedly, but never once have sales abroad materialized. In 2012, negotiations were held on the supply of Merkava Mk 4 tanks to Colombia, however, according to a number of sources, the United States did not issue a sales permit to Israel at that time. In 2014, it was reported that a contract had already been concluded for the supply of new 50 Merkava Mk 4 tanks to Singapore, but as a result, no deliveries were made either. As a result, the only samples of the Merkava family sold abroad were two tank bridge-laying machines on the Merkava chassis, manufactured in Israel specifically by order of the Philippines and transferred to the Philippine army in July 2022. H
Vasily Ivanov