Israel has chosen US-based Oshkosh Defense to produce hundreds of APC hulls for the IDF’s new “Eitan” armored personnel carrier.
The selection was made through a process led by the Ministry of Defense’s Procurement Mission in cooperation with the Tank and APC Directorate, which developed the Eitan APC.
The deal between the procurement mission and Oshkosh Defense is estimated to be over $100 million, financed by US government foreign aid funds.
The hulls, expected to arrive in Israel in about a year and a half, will immediately join the production line. Once fully assembled, the vehicles will be transferred for operational use, which will significantly expand the number of armored APCs used by the IDF.
The Eitan is the most advanced wheeled APC of its kind in the world, according to the Defense Ministry. It can carry 12 personnel at maximum-level protection, incorporates the “Iron Fist” active defense system, and includes advanced fire and control systems.
The IDF’s Nahal Brigade is slated to receive the first operational APCs by the end of the year, the ministry said.
“The contract with Oshkosh Defense is an important milestone in the ‘Eitan’ project. This step allows us to expand the project’s production resources to provide advanced APCs to the IDF,” said Brigadier General Oren Giber, head of the Tank and APC Directorate.
“This agreement may also present further opportunities for the Ministry of Defense and Israeli defense industries to export the ‘Eitan’ APC and its deployed systems,” he said.
“The tight-knit and fruitful cooperation between the procurement mission, led by the head of the delegation’s land procurement division, and the Tank and APC Directorate made this successful process possible,” added Brigadier General (res) Michel Ben Baruch, head of the ministry’s Procurement Mission.
“This agreement, like many others, is thanks to our ironclad alliance with our American partners.”
