Since it was first produced in 1979, Israel's Merkava tank has gained a formidable reputation as one of the world's best-protected fighting machines.
Yet, in the summer of 2006, Hezbollah guerrillas in Southern Lebanon shattered this image.
In just over a month 49 of Israel's home-produced Merkava tanks – the symbol of the Jewish state's military prowess – were reported damaged or destroyed.
It was not only the tank that was damaged, but the myth of Israeli military invincibility so central to the psychological warfare of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The Merkava represents Israel's technological superiority in conventional warfare, but in the new era of guerrilla war, is the Merkava an asset or a liability?
