Nagmachon is a heavily armoured

infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...

fielded by the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

. The Nagmachon evolved from the ''NagmaSho't''

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

(APC), which in turn was based on

Centurion tank The FV4007 Centurion was the primary main battle tank of the British Army during the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing comba ...

Sho't Sho't () is the Israeli designation of the Royal Ordnance L7, 105mm L7 armed modified Centurion tank, which entered Israeli service in the 1960s. Versions Sho't Meteor Sho't Meteors are made up of Mark 3, Mark 5, and Mark 8 Centurion (tank) ...

hulls from the 1970s and 1980s. The vehicle carries thick belly armour designed to withstand mine-blasts and mountings on the front hull for various engineering devices such as mine plows,

mine roller A mine roller or mine trawl is a demining device mounted on a tank or armoured personnel carrier, designed to detonate anti-tank mines. It allows combat engineers to clear a lane through a minefield which is protected by enemy fire. The device ...

s and bulldozer blades. With its belly armour and the relatively heavy armour of the Centurion hull, the Nagmachon also carries explosive reactive armour to counter

high-explosive anti-tank High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity ...

(HEAT)

shaped charge A shaped charge, commonly also hollow charge if shaped with a cavity, is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, ...

rounds, such as rocket propelled grenade (RPG)

RPG-7 The RPG-7 is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket launcher. The RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and are now manufactured by the Russian company Bazalt. The weapon has t ...

s. Early ''Nagmachon''s were equipped with three armoured shields to give soldiers firing the mounted

Fabrique Nationale de Herstal , trading as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale, or simply FN, is a leading firearms manufacturer based in Herstal, Belgium, and former vehicle manufacturer. It was the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe . FN ...

(FN)

FN MAG The FN MAG (, , ) is a Belgian 7.62 mm calibre, 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it h ...

general-purpose machine guns some degree of protection from

small arms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

fire. Later ''Nagmachon''s were fitted with a distinctive raised superstructure, sometimes referred to as a 'doghouse'. The raised structure and increased mine protection have made the ''Nagmachon'' an ideal platform for

counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...

and

urban operations Urban warfare is warfare in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both Military operation, operational and the Military tactics, tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the p ...

, seeing much use in the

al-Aqsa Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and Israel proper, Israeli security responded wit ...

within the

disputed territories A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of territories (land, water or airspace) between two or more political entities. Context and definitions Territorial disputes are often related to the ...

and southern Lebanon in 2006. It is often used as a

military engineering vehicle A military engineering vehicle is a vehicle built for construction work or for the transportation of combat engineering, combat engineers on the battlefield. These vehicles may be modified civilian equipment (such as the Armored bulldozer, armo ...

and a carrier for

sapper A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses ...

s, although its main role has been to carry

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

External links

Nagmachon + Sho't Family, accessed 22 February 2023

Armoured personnel carriers of Israel Tracked armoured personnel carriers Military vehicles introduced in the 1980s {{Mil-vehicle-stub he:נגמ"שים כבדים בצה"ל#נגמחו"ן

See also

External links