New Israeli APC to be based on Oshkosh Chassis

Israel’s defense ministry has selected chassis produced by U.S. company Oshkosh Defense for the new wheeled Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs).

“Another Step in ‘Eitan’ APC Serial Production: the IMOD has selected Oshkosh Defense to produce hundreds of hulls for the IDF's new wheeled APCs,” the ministry confirmed in a tweet today.

The deal between the procurement mission and Oshkosh Defense is estimated to be over $100 million, financed by American aid funds. Once fully assembled, the APCs will be transferred for operational use.

Deliveries of first of the new advanced Eitan APCs to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took place this summer. These vehicles were built to replace the military’s ‘old and less advanced’ M113 fully tracked APCs.

The “Eitan” is an eight-wheeled, lightweight vehicle that combines technologies from the Merkava tank and the Namer APC. It was built partially in response to lessons learned from the 2014 Gaza war.

Earlier this month, Israel’s MOD tested Elbit Systems’ Iron First missile defense system fitted on the Eitan APC. Iron First tracks and intercepts incoming missiles and will eventually be deployed on military’s D9 armored bulldozers.

The Eitan is intended to give troops greater speed and mobility — it can reach 90kmph (56 mph).