[1] The addition "Kal" refers to the abbreviation of the engine manufacturer Continental, originally notated in Hebrew as "שוטקל" and transliterated as "sho'tqal".

The Alef was a major upgrade from the Sho't Meteor, which was factored mostly by the new Continental AVDS1790-2AC engine and new Allison CD-850-6A transmission.

[10] In the Yom Kippur war, many Alefs frequently had their side skirt plates removed due to the winter creating a high quantity of heavy mud in the Golan Heights, making the mud pack to the suspension and causing mechanical issues.

It was decided smoke was no longer needed to hide tanks in battle; this was greatly regretted in the Yom Kippur War.

[1][16] The Cadillac Gauge fire control system was installed; however, it was only implemented in one brigade, with it being a partial solution.

Reactive armor covered most parts of the tank's front, turret, and on top of the mid-section fenders.

However, ERA was not used as commonly as it was with the Sho't Kal Gimel, due to certain Bets receiving it near the end of its service life.

The Sho't Kal Gimel was manufactured in 1979 and used in service by the early 1980's, being fully equipped with Blazer (Baltan) Explosive Reactive Armor and two IS-10 smoke grenade launchers on each side of the turret front.

[1][16] Along with the new fire control system, a new modern stabilizer was added to the traverse system which eased the process of the main gun staying on target while engaging—providing stability for aiming the cannon while traveling at high speeds on rough terrain, and giving high accuracy on the move without needing to stop the tank.

Two additional exhausts were added to the engine deck,[1] which is a notable external difference between Sho't Kal variants—allowing for ease to determine if a certain variant is the Gimel or beyond.

[16] Protection against HEAT projectiles was greatly increased due to the installation of Blazer (Baltan) reactive armor.

A new, more advanced fire-control system was added to the Dalet,[6] the name of this FCS is called, "Nachal Oz".

It is estimated that the Israeli armed forces lost up to 40% of their southern armored groups during the first two days of the war, highlighting the necessity for infantry support to armored groups, culminating in the Merkava main battle tanks being equipped with rear troop bays.