Elbit Systems announced this week that the Israeli Defense Ministry selected the Iron Fist Light Decoupled (IFLD), the Company’s Active Protection System (APS), for the IDF’s new Eitan eight-wheeled Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV), as well as for the D-9 Bulldozer. The award of the contract for the program, following a competitive bid, is subject to completion of negotiations between the parties.
The Eitan AFV features a top speed of 55 mph and can carry 12 men including a crew of 3. It can be equipped with a 30–40 mm gun and a missile firing position. The Eitan will replace hundreds of M113s armored personnel carriers currently in service.
The selection of the IFLD for the IDF’s Eitan AFV comes on the heels of the decision by the US Army to proceed with the IFLD for the Bradley AFV.
IFLD uses independent optical sensors, tracking radar, launchers and countermeasure munitions to defeat threats at a safe distance from the defended combat vehicles. The system provides 360-degree protection coverage for close-range scenarios in both open terrain and urban environments. Its low size and weight, versatile high-performance, negligible residual penetration and ease of integration position IFLD as an optimal active protection solution for any fighting vehicle.
Yehuda (Udi) Vered, General Manager of Elbit Systems Land Division, said: “We are proud to have been selected by the IMOD to provide the IDF with such an important operational capability. The decision of the IMOD to prefer IFLD adds to the growing interest in this APS by many modern armed forces who seek to enhance protection capabilities for their AFVs.”