IMI 120 mm gun

The IMI 120 mm gun is an L44 smoothbore tank gun designed and produced by Israeli Military Industries (IMI). It is widely confused as a licensed production of the Rheinmetall L44 tank gun, however it was developed by IMI from 1983 to 1988, to meet the requirements of the Israel Defense Forces' Merkava Mark III main battle tank.

It was first revealed in 1989 when it was shown to be the main armament of the Merkava Mark III. In 1998 the Israel Defense Prize was awarded to Israeli Military Industries for this development, which gave Israel the means to produce tank guns independently.

Design
This tank gun is very similar to the Rheinmetall L44 versions installed on the German Leopard 2, American M1 Abrams, South Korean K1A1, and Japanese Type 90 main battle tanks. However, it has a different recoil system, consisting of an optimized concentric retarder and pneumatic recuperator, and more compact overall dimensions, not exceeding those of the existing 105 mm Royal Ordnance M68 105 mm rifled gun of the Merkava Marks I and II, and the M60 Patton.

Versions
There are two versions of the IMI 120 mm gun: the MG251 and MG253, the first of which fitted with a thermal sleeve, developed by Vishay Intertechnology, provided with a fume extractor which can be removed for maintenance without disturbing the actual sleeve, while the second also features a new compressed gas recoil system and a thermal sleeve developed by Vidco Industries.

Both versions fire a family of ammunition developed by IMI but can also fire French, German or US 120 mm NATO ammunition if required, and may also fire the LAHAT anti-tank guided missile.

Operators

 * MG251:
 * 🇮🇱 Merkava Mark III
 * MG253:
 * 🇮🇱 Merkava Mark IV
 * 🇹🇷 M60T Sabra