Israel’s Defense Ministry says it has closed a deal to purchase 200 advanced tactical trucks for the Israeli army from the Oshkosh Defense firm in Wisconsin.
The $200 million deal is to be paid for with Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grant aid funds, according to the ministry, and will include logistics and maintenance services that will take place in Israel.
The ministry announced Wednesday (Jan. 11) it will acquire the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) in a contract valued at $200 million. The agreement followed months of field testing on an initial set of six trucks to ensure they met Israeli requirements, according to Defense News.
The announcement included the information that the contract is likely to be followed by additional orders as the IDF Technology and Logistics division continues to replace its tactical truck fleet, which is nearly 60 years old.
“We’re talking about an initial deal, after which the defense establishment is expected to decide to acquire hundreds more trucks until our entire antiquated fleet is replaced,” the ministry said in its statement.
Delivery of the new trucks begins this year, according to Itzik Levy, deputy chief of purchasing for ground systems. The last truck is to arrive by mid-2018.