Legendary Israeli tank threatened with extinction.

• Author: Fishbein, Rand H.
• Position: Commentary

If Israel's Finance Ministry ultimately has its way, the famed Merkava Mk. 4 tank may soon be a thing of the past.

For the moment, the government has given the Merkava a temporary stay of execution, deciding in late November that it would continue to fund the tank program into the 2004 fiscal year. But the rate of production probably will be reduced and the program cut back or killed in the coming years. The current fleet has 3,900 tanks.

Strong, eleventh-hour lobbying by military and industry leaders has kept the program on life support. But many observers believe that new austerity measures adopted by the government may soon force reluctant ministers to once again revisit this issue.

Seeking to bridge an ever-widening budget gap, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli's current minister of finance, is targeting the Merkava, a program which many believe is too costly and wasteful given the nation's other more pressing priorities.

Many of these same officials also contend that the program is superfluous given the recent defeat of the Iraqi military by American-led forces and its elimination as a near-term threat to Israel's security.

The Merkava is the country's only indigenously produced main battle tank and represents a formidable part of the defense manufacturing base in Israel. Israel spends approximately 1 billion NIS ($228 million) a year on tank procurement.

Supporters contend that eliminating all tank production in israel is not only shortsighted, but also fiscally irresponsible. They note that both the human and financial costs of any shut down would be high and should be weighed accordingly. More importantly, though, the recommendation ignores key strategic considerations which fall outside of the purview of the Finance Ministry.

Proponents argue that while Israel contemplates a reduction in its ground forces, the countries it may one day face in battle--Egypt, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia--continue to upgrade their arsenals with ever more modern, lethal and offensive armor, missile, naval and aircraft platforms.

In a recent interview, Israel's Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz expressed concerns over the massive buildup in Egypt's offensive armament, particularly its acquisition of state-of-the-art American equipment saying, "We look with concern at the strengthening of Egypt, and we ask: What is it for? After all, we have peace with Egypt and I see no country threatening them. A new reality may develop that in a few years there will be a different leadership in Egypt, and that could change how they relate to Israel."

The combined rank forces of Egypt (3,000), Syria (3,700), Lebanon (280), Jordan (990) and Saudi Arabia (750) stands at roughly 8,720.

In October, the Pentagon approved the sale of 125 additional M1A1 Abrams tank kits to Egypt along with associated services and upgrades. The move brings to 880 the number of M1 s in Cairo's inventory. The M1 is the U.S. premier battle tank.

Among the Merkava's principal advocates is Maj. Gen. Haim Erez (Res.). During the Yom Kippur War off 1973, his brigade was the first to cross the Suez Canal in pursuit of the fleeing Egyptian Army. His commander was Ariel Sharon, now Israel's Prime Minister. "The Merkava MK.4 provides its crew with excellent protection and survivability from new threats that have developed since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and is essential to sustaining the country's qualitative military edge," said Erez. "If the IDF had had such a tank in 1975, I estimate that the Armor Corps would have sustained 911 percent fewer losses."

The fate of the Merkava program was the topic of a forum held in Tel Aviv on November 16 by the Manufacturers Association of Israel. Representatives from Israel's major defense companies, former officials of the Ministry of Defense, Knesset members, retired military officers and experts in strategic and international relations concluded that cutbacks to the program will have serious repercussions far beyond ordinary tank production.

The group estimated that more than 220 sub-component...