Elbit Systems launches production of Sabrah light tanks
A few years ago, the Israeli company Elbit Systems presented a project for a promising light tank / combat vehicle with heavy weapons called Sabrah. Potential buyers were offered an armored vehicle on a tracked or wheeled chassis with a full-fledged turret equipped with a large-caliber gun. Soon we managed to find the first customer, and by now mass production has been launched.
Looking for orders
At the end of the tenth years, the Elbit company developed and presented the concept of a promising family of combat vehicles under the general name Sabra. This project involved the creation of a unified fighting compartment and a set of other tools suitable for installation on different chassis. Thus, the advertising materials featured a light tank on a caterpillar chassis and a wheeled combat vehicle with heavy weapons.
Elbit Systems does not have its own production of armored vehicles and some weapons, which is why several other organizations were invited to the project. They had to provide the required platforms and other products, and Elbit took over the development of the fighting compartment and the overall coordination of work.
In parallel with the development of the project, a search for potential customers was carried out. Materials on "Sabra" were regularly shown at various exhibitions. Not so long ago, for advertising purposes, they built a full-size prototype of a tracked version of a light tank, equipped with an original fighting compartment.
In October 2020, the first commercial success of the project became known. Two versions of the Sabrah tank competed in the Philippine Army competition and won. A contract was signed for the supply of 18 tracked and 10 wheeled armored vehicles, as well as other equipment and ammunition with a total cost of approx. $195 million. Delivery time - 3 years from the date of signing the contract.
In the future, the contractor and the customer several times reported on the preparation of production and specified the cost of production. So, in June of this year, at one of the exhibitions, Elbit Systems announced a reduction in the cost of the contract to 172 million dollars. Due to what it was possible to reduce the price of products and whether its quantity has changed, it was not reported.
The search for customers continues. So, in September it became known that Elbit was participating in the competition of the Brazilian army and offering it BMTV on the Eitan chassis with a unified Sabra turret. Later, they announced their participation in the development of the Indian-Israeli tank FRCV. The chassis for it will be prepared by Indian enterprises, and Elbit will provide the Sabrah tower.
Tanks in production
The development company has repeatedly demonstrated mock-ups and prototypes of a light tracked tank at exhibitions. As the Sabrah project developed, the appearance of such samples changed slightly. The unified BMTV has not yet been built “in hardware” and has not been openly demonstrated, and in its case, Elbit Systems managed only with advertising images.
In 2020-21, having received a Philippine order, the companies participating in the project began preparing for production. So, different departments of General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) had to provide the necessary tracked and wheeled chassis. In the near future, the appearance of full-fledged experienced armored vehicles was expected.
In early December, the Elbit enterprise in Haifa was visited by a delegation from the Romanian Ministry of Defense. She was shown the latest developments in various fields, incl. tank "Sabra" on a caterpillar base. This is probably the first serial machine of this type, built for the Philippine order. It should also be expected that the company is already assembling the following machines, and in the foreseeable future they will be shipped to the customer.
Tower "Sabra" on the Pandur II chassis
Two versions
The Elbit Sabra project proposes the construction of light combat vehicles based on different chassis, but using a unified fighting compartment. To date, two variants of such equipment have been developed - a light tank on the ASCOD 2 chassis and a wheeled armored vehicle based on the Pandur II. Two more chassis options are being developed for Brazil and India. More options may appear in the future.
The used chassis is subject to requirements for carrying capacity, energy systems, etc. In addition, it must meet the wishes of the customer in terms of driving characteristics, mobility, protection, etc. Thus, the ASCOD 2 and Pandur II chassis used have fairly high mobility characteristics and are protected from small-caliber artillery and fragments. In both cases, the combat weight of the finished vehicle does not exceed 30 tons.
The unified combat compartment "Sabra" is a tower with all the necessary equipment. The cap is made of bulletproof / anti-fragmentation armor and has characteristic chopped contours, as well as a developed aft niche. It is possible to install additional booking or active protection complex. Inside the compartment are the jobs of tankers, a swinging gun mount with an automatic loader, etc.
The basic one weapons is a 105 mm rifled gun with a 52 klb barrel, which is the next development of the old British L7. There is an automatic loader with cells for 12 unitary shots; 24 more projectiles are placed in the body of the armored vehicle. Rate of fire - up to 6 rds / min. If there was interest from customers, they promised to work out the possibility of installing a 120-mm smoothbore gun.
On the gun mount is a coaxial machine gun with a total ammunition load of 2 rounds. Outside the tower provides for the installation of smoke grenade launchers and, at the request of the customer, anti-tank missiles.
Sabra at Eurosatory-2022
The turret is equipped with Combat NG digital fire control system. It integrates three-channel gunner's and commander's sights (panoramic), ballistic computer, stabilizer, etc. The pickup is controlled remotely using electric drives. Declared the possibility of accurate fire at ranges up to 3600 m.
The Sabrah is also equipped with the TORCH-XTM “battlefield management system”, which ensures the interaction of armored vehicles within the unit. An E-LynXTM radio station was used for data exchange and voice communication. Similar equipment will be used on serial tanks for the Philippines. Other customers may choose a different package to get all the features they need.
Unification of opportunities
The goal of the Sabrah project was to create a universal fighting compartment with cannon and machine gun weapons, compatible with various carrier platforms, wheeled and tracked. Elbit Systems was able to solve such a design problem, and, together with contractors, has already managed to develop two full-fledged armored vehicles - and is not going to stop.
The light tank and BMTV "Sabra" have already found their customer and went into production. In the near future, new orders from one or two countries may appear. All this shows that the project from Elbit and subcontractors as a whole meets the needs of potential buyers and has certain commercial prospects.
It is easy to see that the Sabrah project, due to the competent choice of basic ideas and solutions, affects several market niches at once. The development companies simultaneously offer a universal fighting compartment, as well as tracked and wheeled armored vehicles using it. Depending on their needs, the buyer can choose only the turret and install it on the desired chassis, or purchase a complete wheeled or light tank.
One of the first Sabrah tanks at the factory, December 2022
The proposed composition of weapons also takes into account the peculiarities of the market. In recent years, there has been renewed interest in systems in calibers up to 90-105 mm. Such guns are much cheaper than more powerful models, but are capable of hitting a wide range of targets. In particular, they are seen as a convenient means of dealing with obsolete medium tanks or early MBTs.
Many countries are interested in obtaining just such weapons, and it is used in new projects of "light" and "medium" tanks. Another embodiment of this concept is the Israeli technique with the fighting compartment Sabrah. At the same time, the possibility of replacing the gun with a more powerful model is declared, which potentially expands the circle of customers.
However, certain shortcomings are visible. Like other modern "light" armored vehicles, the Sabrah tank and BMTV do not have a high level of protection. Even with additional armor, they are protected only from small-caliber projectiles. In addition, such machines are only formally classified as light, and real dimensions and weights can make it difficult to transfer, logistics, etc.
Clear successes
In recent years, a number of foreign organizations have developed and brought to the market their own versions of "light" or "medium" tanks of a modern look. Some of these developments have not progressed beyond testing at test sites and demonstrations at exhibitions. However, some samples became the subject of contracts and reached mass production.
Among the most successful developments of this kind, there are now two variants of the Sabrah armored vehicle and the fighting compartment of the same name from the Israeli Elbit Systems. Whether it will be possible to develop such successes and get new contracts is unknown. At the same time, the recently launched series production increases the chances for further success.
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