[Randy]

I think these are qualities to look for in developing a good MBT: affordability, maintenance costs, speed, armor protection, armament, range, and deployability. The Panther was a good tank, but had a complicated running gear. The T34 was cheap to build and maintain. The Sherman was easy to build but could not stand up to German armor. I think you have to have the right balance of the above in order to get what you need. The Israeli Merkava is heavy, but does not need to be deployed by air to get to its anticipated battle areas. The M1A1 is not really rapidly deployable due to its weight.