Israel plans first sale of Merkava tank to European country

Israel is in talks to sell its Merkava tank to two countries, one of them in Europe, in what would be the first export of the flagship fighting vehicle, a Defence Ministry official said on June 15.

Introduced after Israel's armoured corps suffered heavy losses against Egypt and Syria in a 1973 war, and with a view to reducing reliance on foreign arms supplies, the Merkava - biblical Hebrew for "chariot" - is now in its fourth generation, Reuters reports.

Yair Kulas, head of the Defence Ministry export coordination department SIBAT, said record demand for Israeli products was due in part to countries wanting to replenish their arsenals after providing Ukraine with weapons for its war with Russia.

As a result, he told Calcalist newspaper, Israel was exporting surplus systems it had not previously sold abroad, including earlier-generation Merkavas.

"There are two prospective countries with which we are in advanced negotiations (on a tank sale)," Kulas said. "I am barred from naming them, but one is on the European continent."

Israel has provided Ukraine with humanitarian and diplomatic assistance but not arms, mindful of the need to keep open channels with Moscow given Russia's clout in next-door Syria.