“Merkava” ARV – the Israeli Armored Recovery Vehicle

The “Merkava” ARV is an advanced armored recovery vehicle (ARV) designed to recover, repair and maintain the all-new “Merkava” Mk 4 MBT Israeli main battle tanks. The “Merkava: ARV was developed by “IMI”. It is the only ARV capable of towing and providing battlefield support to the new “Merkava” Mk 4 MBT tanks due to the similar dynamic performance of both combat vehicles. The “Merkava” ARV has a ready-to-use spare power unit, mounted on a special bracket for rapid installation on the battlefield and a tow rope for towing damaged tanks. The “Merkava” ARV acts as a multi-purpose evacuation vehicle and effectively replaces several logistics and maintenance vehicles, such as troop support tractors and the old M88 ARV. In addition, it can act as a long-range medical evacuation vehicle and can transport two wounded on stretchers and a medic along with the commander and driver. The “Merkava” ARV crew consists of a commander, a driver-mechanic and a team of eight mechanics. The crew can use the enlarged rear door to facilitate access to the crew compartment. The “Merkava” ARV is based on the “Merkava” Mk 3. It is equipped with a powerful 50 ton/meter torque telescopic boom, capable of lifting 35 tons. The company-level ARV booms are smaller, than those, designed for the battalion level. Rescue equipment will be changed, depending on the needs. The “Merkava” ARV is equipped with an auxiliary power unit (APU), supplying 24 and 220 volts current and compressed air for the full range of tools, required for field repairs. Given the main characteristics of the “Merkava” Mk 4, the “Merkava” ARV is fast and has good battlefield performance, a long range (several hundred kilometers) and mobility in difficult terrain. According to the plans, several new ARV evacuation vehicles are to be deployed in each armored battalion.

A complex, well-designed and excellently detailed model, that will suit only medium-experienced and experienced modelers. Excellently detailed chassis, its suspension, external detailing, evacuation equipment. The interior of the engine and "combat" compartments are not detailed; there is a considerable reserve of colors. The model depicts a well-"exploited" in the battles with the Arabs machine. The textual instruction are small, and explain only the most complex parts of the model's assembly, the graphical ones are large, detailed, informative and easy to read.