IMI MG251 (120 mm)

Description

The 120 mm IMI MG251 is an Israeli-produced tank armament intended for their Merkava tanks.

Although sharing the same calibre and able to fire the same ammunition, the weapon is not a license-production variant of the 120 mm Rheinmetall L/44 cannon and is independently designed and produced in Israel.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• ▃Merkava Mk.3D

General info

The 120 mm IMI MG251 is an Israeli made L44 Smooth-bore tank gun made by IMI (Israeli Military Forces). It was developed in 1983-1989, for the Merkava Mk. III. It was revealed in 1989 to be the main armament for the Merkava Mk. III. In 1990 the Israel Defense Prize was awarded to IMI which gave Israel the abilit to produce it domestically.

Available 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) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M325	HEATFS	1,078	15.81	0.05	0.1	2,360	65°	72°	77°
M339	HE-TF	900	17	1.5	3	3,660	79°	80°	81°
M322	APFSDS	1,705	5.6	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°

Comparison with analogues

The Rheinmetall Rh-120 is the most similar gun to it. It is also an L44 Smooth-bore Tank gun, and often the IMI MG251 120mm is often mistaken for a licensed version of it.

Usage in battles

The IMI MG251 120mm is found on the Merkava Mk. III MBT meaning that it is going to be going up against tanks such as the T90A. Almost all ammunition types can pierce the T90As armour except for the M339.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• High-penetration APFSDS round

Cons:

• M325 HEAT shell strength is mediocre at the fighting rank and is only useful against light-skinned ground and airborne targets
• Reload time is akin to that of L/55 cannon, being much slower than 120 mm L/44 and 125 mm cannons

History

The 120 mm tank armament was developed by Israel Military Industries' (IMI) Slavin Land Systems Division. It made its public reveal in 1989 as the main armament of the Merkava Mk.3.

There are three known variants of the IMI's 120 mm cannon:

• MG251 - The first version mounted in Merkava Mk. IIIs
• MG251-LR - An improved version that is mounted on Merkava Mk.4s
• MG253 - A version with reduced recoil length, 40% less than the normal. Used in the M60T "Sabra" in Turkish service.

The 120 mm guns are compliant with STANAG 4385, which means the cannons are compatible with other 120 mm NATO tank shells.

Media

See also

• M256 (120 mm)
• Rh120 L/44 (120 mm)

External links

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMI_120_mm_gun

https://web.archive.org/web/20161231050132/http://www.imi-israel.com/home/doc.aspx?mCatID=68579

References

Bibliography

• Elbit Systems. "Elbit Systems Land Tank Ammunition Portfolio." Elbit Systems, PDF document. (Archive)
• IMI Systems. "L44 (MG251/3) - 120mm Smoothbore Tank Guns." IMI Systems, Web Archive (Retrieved from 31 Dec 2016).
• Janes. "Israel Military Industries 120 mm smoothbore tank gun MG251 (Israel), Weapons of 20 mm and upward." Jane's Armour and Artillery Upgrades, 17 May 2010, Web Archive (Retrieved from 01 Nov 2010)