PM Netanyahu changed his mind about the Merkava Tank Program.
Israel will need them for a conventional rather than a Nuclear War.
Israel has more deterrent nuclear weapons for a Strategic Conflict
Than she needs– It is improving conventional weapons she Needs
To hold back an Islamic hoard that will soon pour down on Israelis
Utilizing Improved Russian, Chinese, And North Korean Weaponry!
July 29 2011
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
It was reportedly decided shortly before the beginning of the 2006 Lebanon War that the Merkava line would be discontinued within four years. However, on 7 November 2006, Haaretz reported that an Israeli General Staff assessment had ruled of the Merkava Mark IV that “if properly deployed, the tank can provide its crew with better protection than in the past,” and deferred the decision on discontinuing the line.
Begin 2003 Archive Update
ARCHIVE SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 135B
September 1, 2003
Bye! Bye! Conventional Merkava 4’s and 5’s!
I was rather surprised by some armor decisions made recently by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is now the Treasury Minister in Ariel Sharon’s Cabinet. He believes Israel faces two threats – The Palestinian terrorist groups, and the weapons of mass destruction that are being developed by Arab states in the Middle East, notably headed by Iran. Of course, both of these are real threats, but I do not agree with his statement that followed.
He does not believe the threat of an invasion by Arab states against Israel on the ground is a feasible reality and, because of this, favors the decommissioning of old war systems, like the Merkava tanks, at an accelerated rate.
Netanyahu attributes great importance to the strategic view, which would provide answers to the Iranian nuclear threat and to other state’s weapons of mass destruction. He favors the continuation of the security fence to its completion, but desires to see the discontinuation
of Merkava tank production. If Israel does follow this program, believing they are secure from an outside ground attack at the present, then once they finally get the Palestinians fenced in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, it will give them a sense of “peace and safety” as regards their being overrun from
the north.
Scripture indicates it will happen.
Without the conventional old war systems, such as the Merkava 3 and the new Merkava 4 tanks, Israel would be much more vulnerable to a conventional attack like the one launched against them from Syria in the 1973 Yom Kipper War.
The deterrent to non-conventional weapons, now being developed by the Arab states, lies in the Negev wilderness in the form of nuclear, chemical, and biological warheads on the hundreds of Jericho missiles found there. The mass destruction weapons possessed by Israel in the Negev are more than a sufficient deterrent to cause the Arab states not to launch theirs against Israel.
When Israel truly believes it has attained peace and safety, then a conventional war attack will be launched against it from the north.
I Thessalonians 5:3,4 – For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
[4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Ezekiel 38:14,15 – Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? [15] And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
Begin Excerpt from THE JERUSALEM POST
IDF considering replacements for heavy Merkava tank
By YAAKOV KATZ
07/14/2011 05:21
IDF is continuing to deploy the Guardium unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) – developed by G-NIUS Ground Systems – along the Gaza border.
What will the IDF Armored Corps look like in 2020
? Will the Merkava Mk 4 tank still serve as the backbone of the IDF’s ground forces or will we see a smaller, lightweight tank, possibly on wheels, plowing through the battlefield? These questions are at the core of ongoing deliberations that are being held in the IDF and Defense Ministry as they begin to consider a potential successor for the Merkava.
Development and construction of the Merkava began in the 1970s with the most advanced model, called the Merkava Mk 4, entering service in 2003 in the 401st Armored Brigade.
The tank is purported to be one of the most protected in the world capable of superior speeds and maneuverability.
The review was sparked by the entry of active-protection systems like the Trophy system, which has been installed on an entire battalion of tanks and successfully intercepted a rocket- propelled grenade (RPG) along the Gaza border in March.
The thinking in the defense establishment is that tanks may no longer require thick layers of armor, which slow down the vehicle, and raise fuel and production costs and could suffice with less armor and more systems like Trophy.
The team set up to review potential successors to the Merkava is led by the Weapons Development Branch in the Ground Forces Command and includes representatives from the Armored Corps as well as from the Defense Ministry’s Merkava Program Office, known by its Hebrew acronym “Mantak.”
“We are thinking ahead and considering a wide range of possibilities,” a senior IDF officer said on Tuesday. “We might decide to continue with the Merkava Mk 4 forever or to develop something completely new.”
RELATED:
General Dynamics signs $150m. reciprocal procurements deal
In related news, the IDF is continuing to deploy the Guardium unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) – developed by G-NIUS Ground Systems – along the Gaza border.
The UGV had been deployed so far just along one section of the border but due to its success in patrolling the border and preventing infiltrations, the IDF has decided to expand the project to additional sections of the security fence.
The Guardium is equipped with sensors for unmanned navigation and can be outfitted with grenade launchers, machine guns and other operational means.
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