Difference between revisions of "Ra'am Sagol"
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== History == | == History == | ||
| + | |||
| + | In 2020, the IDF (Israel Defense Force) authorized the declassification of a unique tank unit -- long-since disbanded -- which had been used to test Israel's first Active Protection System. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The declassified tank unit operated in Israel's "Security Zone" in southern Lebanon, between around 1998 and Israel's eventual withdrawal in 2000. It was a company of [[Merkava Mk.3C|Merkava Mk.3]] tanks belonging to the IDF's 188th Armored Regiment -- at the time some of the most advanced Merkava tanks in service -- and mostly carried out patrols and ambushes against Hezbollah guerillas. Unlike other Israeli tanks at the time, however, the unit's tanks carried a unique new system known only by the code-name ''Ra'am Segol'' ("Purple Thunder"). The few existing photographs of the company's tanks from that period show the system as a pair of opaque boxes on the turret's forward cheeks, and an additional box at the rear of the turret. The system has never been showcased publicly, nor have any of its specifications been made clear; though the declassification of the armored company that utilized it has led to a somewhat solid conclusion about its intended function. | ||
| + | |||
| + | If the speculation is correct, ''Ra'am Segol'' was a "soft-kill" APS: a radar/laser warning system that could detect incoming missiles, then perform some sort of reaction to neutralize them and/or reduce threat to the tank. ''Ra'am Segol'' could not intercept the incoming missile directly, instead performing electro-optical jamming (similar to the Russian Shtora-1, found on the [[T-90A]]) against SACLOS-guided missiles such as the TOW and MILAN, deflecting the missile's trajectory away from the tank. Additionally, it seems likely that the system would automatically deploy the Merkava's smoke grenades, and may have also automatically rotated the turret to face the incoming projectile and allow quick return-fire against the launcher. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In newspaper interviews following the declassification, crews from the ''Ra'am Segol'' unit reported exposing their tanks deliberately to potential threats in order to test the system directly, sometimes going out on patrols without any infantry support (very unusual for armored units during that particular conflict) or even stopping the tank at an exposed position in order to draw missile fire. Official IDF Armored Corps sources, however, have so far denied that the tanks had been utilized any differently from any other unit. There have been no reports of the system ever triggering in action, though the crews have reported never coming under any missile attacks, despite their deliberate efforts. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Whatever the case may be, the ''Ra'am Segol'' unit was disbanded once the IDF withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, and the APS itself was dismantled from all of the tanks, never to be seen again. It is unknown whether the system had failed in some way, or simply deemed unsuitable for the IDF's purposes. Nevertheless, just over a decade later, another Active Protection System was revealed in active service with the IDF, this time being the world's first "hard-kill" APS: the "[[Merkava Mk.4M|Trophy]]". | ||
| + | |||
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| − | |||
== Media == | == Media == | ||
Revision as of 02:02, 22 May 2024
Contents
Description
The Merkava Siman 3 Ra'am Sagol is a premium gift rank VII Israeli medium tank with a battle rating of 11.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Alpha Strike".
General info
Survivability and armour
Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.
Armour type:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | ___ mm | ___ mm Top ___ mm Bottom |
___ mm | ___ - ___ mm |
| Turret | ___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet |
___ - ___ mm | ___ - ___ mm | ___ - ___ mm |
| Cupola | ___ mm | ___ mm | ___ mm | ___ mm |
Notes:
Mobility
Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 67 | 29 | 65 | _,___ | 2,290 | __.__ | 35.23 |
| Realistic | 60 | 26 | _,___ | 1,200 | __.__ | 18.46 | |
Modifications and economy
2 × 150 / 190 / 220 % 2 × 244 / 244 / 244 % | Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: {{main|Name of the weapon}}. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.
| 120 mm IMI MG251 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 46 | -7°/+20° | ±180° | Two-plane | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
| Realistic | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | ||||||||
Ammunition
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| M325 | HEATFS | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 |
| M339 | HE-TF | 65 | 65 | 60 | 58 | 53 | 50 |
| M322 | APFSDS | 589 | 586 | 577 | 565 | 553 | 541 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| M325 | HEATFS | 1,078 | 15.81 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 2.36 | 65° | 72° | 77° | |||
| M339 | HE-TF | 900 | 17 | 1.5 | 3 | 3.66 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| M322 | APFSDS | 1,705 | 5.6 | - | - | - | 78° | 80° | 81° | |||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Machine guns
Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.
| 12.7 mm M2HB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| ___ (___) | ___ | __° | __° | |
| 7.62 mm FN MAG 60-40 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| ___ (___) | ___ | __° | __° | |
| ___ (___) | ___ | __° | __° | |
| ___ (___) | ___ | __° | __° | |
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Extremely large amount of smoke grenades, practically infinite for most battles
- Strong APFSDS shells, with great velocity and penetration
- Unique HE-TF that can be used as a pseudo-SAP round
- Good crew survivability
- Well-protected against IFV autocannons and HEAT rounds
Cons:
- Poor KE protection overall, weak turret cheeks and little meaningful hull armor
- Vulnerable engine and transmission due to frontal placement
- Rear-mounted turret can make it hard to fight around corners
- No thermals for the commander sight
History
In 2020, the IDF (Israel Defense Force) authorized the declassification of a unique tank unit -- long-since disbanded -- which had been used to test Israel's first Active Protection System.
The declassified tank unit operated in Israel's "Security Zone" in southern Lebanon, between around 1998 and Israel's eventual withdrawal in 2000. It was a company of Merkava Mk.3 tanks belonging to the IDF's 188th Armored Regiment -- at the time some of the most advanced Merkava tanks in service -- and mostly carried out patrols and ambushes against Hezbollah guerillas. Unlike other Israeli tanks at the time, however, the unit's tanks carried a unique new system known only by the code-name Ra'am Segol ("Purple Thunder"). The few existing photographs of the company's tanks from that period show the system as a pair of opaque boxes on the turret's forward cheeks, and an additional box at the rear of the turret. The system has never been showcased publicly, nor have any of its specifications been made clear; though the declassification of the armored company that utilized it has led to a somewhat solid conclusion about its intended function.
If the speculation is correct, Ra'am Segol was a "soft-kill" APS: a radar/laser warning system that could detect incoming missiles, then perform some sort of reaction to neutralize them and/or reduce threat to the tank. Ra'am Segol could not intercept the incoming missile directly, instead performing electro-optical jamming (similar to the Russian Shtora-1, found on the T-90A) against SACLOS-guided missiles such as the TOW and MILAN, deflecting the missile's trajectory away from the tank. Additionally, it seems likely that the system would automatically deploy the Merkava's smoke grenades, and may have also automatically rotated the turret to face the incoming projectile and allow quick return-fire against the launcher.
In newspaper interviews following the declassification, crews from the Ra'am Segol unit reported exposing their tanks deliberately to potential threats in order to test the system directly, sometimes going out on patrols without any infantry support (very unusual for armored units during that particular conflict) or even stopping the tank at an exposed position in order to draw missile fire. Official IDF Armored Corps sources, however, have so far denied that the tanks had been utilized any differently from any other unit. There have been no reports of the system ever triggering in action, though the crews have reported never coming under any missile attacks, despite their deliberate efforts.
Whatever the case may be, the Ra'am Segol unit was disbanded once the IDF withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, and the APS itself was dismantled from all of the tanks, never to be seen again. It is unknown whether the system had failed in some way, or simply deemed unsuitable for the IDF's purposes. Nevertheless, just over a decade later, another Active Protection System was revealed in active service with the IDF, this time being the world's first "hard-kill" APS: the "Trophy".
Media
- Videos
See also
- Related development
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Israel medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| M-51 | M-51 · M-51 (W) |
| Magach | Magach 1 · Magach 2 · Magach 3 · Magach 3 (ERA) · Magach 5 · Magach 6 |
| Magach 6A · Magach 6B · Magach 6B Gal · Gal Batash · Magach 6C · Magach 6M · Magach 6R · Magach Hydra · Magach 7C | |
| Tiran | Tiran 4 · Tiran 4S · Tiran 6 |
| Sho't | Sho't · Sho't Kal Alef · Sho't Kal Gimel · Sho't Kal Dalet |
| Merkava | Merkava Mk.1B · Merkava Mk.2B · Merkava Mk.2D · Merkava Mk.3B · Merkava Mk.3C · Ra'am Sagol |
| Merkava Mk.4B · Merkava Mk.4M · Merkava Mk.4 LIC | |
| Israel premium ground vehicles | |
|---|---|
| Medium tanks | M-51 (W) · Magach 3 (ERA) · Sho't Kal Dalet · Merkava Mk.2D · Ra'am Sagol |
| Tank destroyers | Sholef |
- Ground vehicles
- Israel ground vehicles
- Seventh rank ground vehicles
- Premium ground vehicles
- Medium tanks
- Gift ground vehicles
- Ground vehicles with smoke grenades
- Ground vehicles with engine smoke generating system
- Ground vehicles with night vision device
- Ground vehicles with thermal sight
- Ground vehicles with gun stabilizer
