Throughout the Yom Kippur War, in 1973, the backbone of Israeli armored troops was created by the US tanks M48A3 and M60A1. However, the significant losings suffered through the battles, established a marked improvement program in order to boost the operating effectiveness and the reliability of Israel's tanks. Through the 1970s, more in detail, the Magach 6 was developed on the basis of the American M60. Among the numerous alterations, including the installing of a brand new fire control system as well as the enhancement of main armament, probably the most noticeable change was the use of ERA (explosive reactive armor) defenses, suited to decrease the aftereffects of anti-tank tools and missiles adopted by the enemy armies. Between 1980 and 1990 the Magachs have been slowly replaced by probably the most modern and higher level Merkava tanks as Israel's front-line MBT (main battle tanks). But the Magach 6, through continuous upgraded, has equipped several Israeli armored devices before the mid-1990s.
