APS might sound like an effective system in theory, but it was never tested in real war and it is very expensive with additional 1mln$ for Israeli Trophy system or South Korean KAPS....
When Israel said they will invade Lebanon with Merkavas equipped with Trophy APS, Hezbollah said they will launch 3 ATGMs at a tank at the same time and this will overwhelm Trophy APS.
Add to this cheap loitering munitions with anti-tank capability that will be developed in the near future and tank becomes an expensive peace of metal that becomes even more expensive to defend against current and future threats.
So while tank is an offensive weapon, it seems like defenders will have an upper hand in the near future.
Regarding quality of Western tanks - they performed poorly in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq- be it Merkava, Leopard 2 or M1Abrams.
Here is famed Leopard 2's first battle experience in Syria
Here is M1Abrams in Iraq
You can find tens of such videos online
The truth is that Western countries didn't fight a war of the same scale as Russo-Ukraine War against an enemy equipped with tens of thousands of ATGMs.
Otherwise their tanks could have experienced the same shitstorm as Russian tanks and armor in Ukraine.
Ah yes, the usual coping Russian. Russia itself created the Arena, except it's just garbage that doesn't work so it didn't deploy it on any tank.
It was tested lol, it defeated hundreds of Kornets, RPG-29s, RPG-7s, Metis and other rockets and missiles between 2011 and 2014. It only got better since. You see why Israel is smart? Because Israel pays 4 million dollars for a tank, and equips it with APS that will save them, whereas Russia buys 2 tanks for 5 million dollars, and both of them get blown up by missiles that would have been easily intercepted by an APS.
Foolish Hezbollah, they don't understand one thing. It takes 30 seconds to guide their missiles towards a Merkava, and the AESA radars of the Trophy system know where the enemy is launching missiles from, and they know how to move the turret to hit those Hezbollah terrorists with a 120mm shell and disrupt the guidance long before the missile gets close to the Merkava. The Trophy can handle 2 missiles, if they come from the same place all it needs is to rotate the turret, and if they come from both sides it doesn't even need to move. Also close together tank formation can protect each other with multiple Trophy systems.
Also, obviously, it is infinitely more difficult to successfully utilize 3 ATGM launchers when compared to one. Tactically this is not something feasible in a dynamic battlefield.
Again, loitering munition drones would be useless against EW attached to a tank battalion/brigade. Also, Lancet won't do shit to a Merkava, it can only destroy thinly armored Soviet tanks and such.
Performed poorly? Lol, again with the Russian cope machine. Only tanks that performed poorly are Russian tanks getting blown up by the thousands. How many Merkava Mk4 got destroyed, 3? 2 of those by ATGMs that are hopeless against it now? (2 other were Mk3 and Mk2 Merkavas)
How many Leopard 2A4s (lol, they're old as shit btw) got destroyed in Syria, 10? The Leopard 2A7+ got Trophy, which would have prevented all of those casualties.
That's an export variant M1 Abrams crewed by Arabs without DU armor, but doesn't matter, because this Abrams would be totally safe if it had Trophy, like the new Abrams SEPv3 and v4 have.
The truth is if western tanks with APS and EW protection were to fight against Russia, Russia would be powerless to destroy even a few dozen tanks.
I am technically not anti-Israel hater or what not and you will find me to be amongst the fair and rational.
Israel has pros and cons.
The pros outweight the cons but the cons is natural aspect which can't be changed.
Israel has professional armed forces and well equipped from top to toe in conventional armed forces and with great airforce and defensive systems.
Now that being said in a modern day conventional conflict Israel will come out on the shorter end due to 3 things.
1. The enemy actully having the necessary arms to negate your impressive conventional arms. They have anti-tanks, anti-aircrafts, air defense systems, jammers, drones, tanks and other conventional means to engage and the capability to bring your airforce down which means it will finally come down to head to head conventional clash at the center of the octagon. They have more numbers and can outlast Israel.
2. Stragetic depth (Israel can't take many hits)
3. Low population and honestly majority of the Israeli civilians live a luxury life hence I expect majority of them to fly out at the crucial point
If someone attempted or mounted a serious campaign on that territory on Tel-Aviv etc etc and the Israeli population knew on before hand the level of threat majority will vacate and go to their second villas in Florida.
But but but.. This won't occur for as long as an infamous alliance exists due to one simple reason --NATO-- Now that is a foe no one in the region wants to bump heads with
Tell me how is the situation any different than in 1948, 1967 and 1973, and why we will loose as opposed to the victories in those wars.