Foro Militar General

IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) Israel Tal dies at age 86

By JPOST.COM STAFF

09/08/2010 12:37

A senior commander, helped lay the foundations of the IDF and also conceived and established the Merkava tank project.

IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) Israel Tal (Talik), 86, died Wednesday morning at Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot, the IDF Spokesperson reported.

Former top IDF officer, military theorist dies at the age of 86

Israel Tal is known as the 'father' of Israel's main battle tank, the Merkava, as well as serving as both deputy IDF chief, assistant defense minister.

By Amir Oren



Major General Israel Tal (res.), one of the Israel Defense Force's most prominent commanders and military theorists, died Wednesday, after suffering from a prolonged illness.

Tal, who was a week shy of his 86th birthday, is known as the "father" of Israel's main battle tank, the Merkava, and served as the commander of the IDF's Armored Corps during Israel's "War over the Water" in the 1960s, as well as the commander of the armored division which broke through the northern Sinai in the Six Day War.

The former Major General eventually reached the portion of deputy IDF chief of staff and the commander of Israel's southern front against Egypt in the final stages of the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

In one famous incident Tal, as commander of the southern front, refused an order by then IDF chief of staff David Elazar and defense minster Moshe Dayan to engage Egyptian forces after the war had ended, insisting on receiving authorization from then prime minister Golda Meir and the Supreme Court.

While Tal eventually won the argument, the incident virtually eliminated Tal's chances of being nominated chief of staff after Elazar stepped down in the wake of the report by the Agarnat commission, which investigated the conduct of Israeli political and military officials during the war.

Upon his release, Tal was nominated deputy minister of defense under Shimon Peres, and remained in that position even after returning to active duty during Ezer Weizman's stint as defense minister.

During this period Tal, following Weizman's request, prepared plans for central ground forces command, an offer which was intercepted by two chiefs of staff, Mordechai Gur and Rafael Eitan, fearing Tal would be named chief of staff following the command's establishment.

Later, defense minister Moshe Arena erected a downsized version of Tal's command, which was later restructured as the GOC Army Headquarters.

In 1999 Tal suffered from a stroke, following an argument over the Yom Kippur War with Maj. General Doron Almog. Following a rehabilitation process the former top IDF officer partially regained his health, only to fall ill again a few months ago.

Tal left a wife, daughter, son, and grandchildren. His military funeral is expected to take place on Sunday.

Peres: Tal was a master of warfare, yet believed in peace

President Shimon Peres said in response to Tal's passing on Wednesday that regardless "of which rank he bore on his shoulders he was, and will remain, a man above others. In his eyes, moral considerations were equally important to technological advances."

"The tank he designed, was meant to be the best in the world, and it seems that it so regarded," Peres added, saying that Tal, above anyone else, was able to articulate a "strategy that distinguished between the need to save the country and to fortify it."

The president added that the former IDF officer knew that "there wasn't an alternative to victory, but he also believed that the alternative to war is the sought-after peace, which was at hand."

"He was Israel's inexhaustible dew ['Tal,' in Hebrew]. May his memory be blessed," Peres said.

Hippikon escribió:Con que sistema de defensa cuenta este vehículo?

Missile fired at IDF tank thwarted by Windbreaker shield

Terrorists fire RPG at IDF tank near Khan Younis; new Windbreaker system prevents hit; no injuries on Israeli side; Palestinians say warplanes, choppers seen above city

Elior Levy Published: 03.01.11, 17:10 / Israel News

An RPG was fired at an IDF tank travelling east towards the city of Khan Younis in Gaza Tuesday afternoon. Soldiers returned fire, and the Palestinians claim one person was injured from artillery fire in the area.

The anti-tank missile that was fired towards the tank was thwarted by the Windbreaker active missile protection system, which was used for the first time during operational activity. The missile exploded at a large distance from the tank, preventing damage, the army said.

Eyewitnesses said the RPG hit the tank and set it on fire. The IDF confirmed an attack on a force patrolling the border, but said the incident did not result in any injuries or damage.

According to the Palestinians, IDF forces opened fire on the terror cell behind the RPG attack. Israeli warplanes and helicopters were seen circling above Khan Younis, sources in Gaza said.

The spokesman for Gaza's rescue services, Adham Abu Selmiya, said one person was injured from artillery fire targeting the terror cell east of Khan Younis. The injured man was evacuated to a hospital in Deir el-Balah.

No one claimed responsibility for the RPG attack, but the Ali Abu Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine, said it had fired three mortars towards Israel shortly before the RPG attack from the same area. The IDF said it did not know of any mortar fire towards Israel.

Attacks involving anti-tank fire against IDF soldiers are relatively scarce, as Palestinian terrorists focus mostly on planting explosives along the security fence separating Israel from Hamas-ruled Gaza.

The IDF has launched a number of strikes in Gaza over the past few days in response to the continued rocket fire emanating from the Strip.

Yoav Zitun contributed to the report

Anti-tank missile defense system stops attack on IDF tank

By BEN HARTMAN
03/01/2011 19:18

"Trophy" system is activated for the first time during an IDF operation; force identifies and kills the Gazan gunman.

A special missile defense system deployed in IDF armored units stopped an anti-tank missile fired by terrorists near the Gaza security fence, the first time the system has been used during an IDF operation.

The IDF Spokesperson's office reported that the “Windbreaker” system managed to identify and disable the missile, and that no damage was caused to the tank or its crew. Shortly thereafter, IDF troops identified an armed man in their proximity and opened fire, killing the gunman at the scene.

The Windbreaker made its debut in August, 2009, when the IDF announced that it had become operational and began the process of outfitting a battalion of tanks with the system. Also known as the “Trophy,” the windbreaker is an active protection system which stops incoming missiles and rockets by spraying a small blast of projectiles similar to buckshot in their path.

The program was developed in a joint effort between the Israeli arms firms Rafael and Israel Aircraft Industries.

Development of the defense system reached greater importance following the Second Lebanon War, during which IDF Merkava tanks were repeatedly hit by anti-tank missiles fired by Hezbollah. The system is today automatically installed on every new tank produced.

News of the 401st Armored Brigade's successful application of the Windbreaker was greeted with great fanfare in the IDF, which viewed the incident as “historic”, and emphasized that it was the first successful application of any system of its sort not only in Israel but in any country's armed forces.