[cusbut]

I was a Challenger 2 commander and absolutely loved that tank it was an extremely effective battle tank and just like the leclerc its fire control system enabled it to engage slow flying aircraft and vehicles on the move, these techniques are taught as standard to RAC crewmen. I believe that all the modern MBTs Leclerc, Leo 2A6, M1A2, etc are basically much the same with some slight differences not enough to make a major impact on the battlefield. In the end it comes down to the experience and skill of the crews. I like the Merkava design but it was built with a different doctrine than those in europe and the US. The europeans designed theirs for large scale mechanised warfare across open planes and woodland, having learnt the hard way about using tanks in urban environments, the isrealies seem to have started out with the same principle but as their battlefield changed to a more urban insurgengy type theatre so has their merkava designs and upgrades. The latest version of the merkava now has sniper slits in the rear compartment enableing sniper teams to fire from under armour.