The Israel Defense Forces’ Merkava series of main battle tanks, widely considered to be of the most lethal armored vehicles ...

These tanks, whose design roots can be traced back to the even older Chieftain tank, demonstrate the evolution of armored weaponry through gradual development that builds upon prior, proven solutions.

In the 1970s the Shah of Iran - the pro-Western monarch who then ruled the country - ordered 1,500 Chieftain tanks and 250 Armoured Recovery Vehicles from the UK in a deal worth an estimated £650m.