Since 2010, we‘ve been trying to export the tank, but we haven’t made a deal yet,” Ministry of Defense Mekava Tank Program Administration director Brig.-Gen. Baruch Mazliach told “Globes”.

He added,"“We will find a country that wants to procure the Merkava, and we’ll be able to continue developing this industry in Israel.”

The export of the Israeli main battle tank Merkava will strengthen all the Israeli companies involved in the Merkava’s production, and will strengthen Israel’s armored fighting vehicles industry.

The Israeli Army and the Tank Program Administration are marking the 35th anniversary of the delivery of the first Merkava tank, the pioneer of the Israeli tank industry, to the Armored Corp’s renowned 7 Brigade.

The Merkava Mk. 1 has since been superseded by the more advanced Merkava Mk. 2, Mk. 3, and Mk. 4, which the IDF likes to call the best tank in the world.

The upgrading of Israeli tanks has continued with the installation of active armor systems, which improve tanks’ survivability against the even the most advanced missile threat on the field. Every Merkava tank delivered to the IDF in the past few years is equipped with the Trophy active protection system made by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. to automatically detect and intercept incoming antitank missiles.

During operations in Gaza, the Trophy succeeded in neutralizing attempts to use missiles to hit tanks before the crews were even aware of them.

35 years after the IDF received its first Merkava tank, 212 enterprises across the country are involved in the tank’s production, and more than 10,000 people work on the production of this war machine. Nonetheless, the Israeli tank industry is far from secure.