The Israeli defense ministry has selected Oshkosh Defense as the preferred supplier of hulls for the Israeli Army’s new Eitan armored personnel carrier (APC).
Announcing the decision, the defense ministry said the contract was “another step” toward serial production in the Eitan program that will deliver a successor for the tracked M113 APC.
According to the defense ministry, Oshkosh Defense is to produce “hundreds of hulls” for the IDF’s new wheeled APC under a deal worth over 100 million dollars. The contract is being financed by United States aid funds.
Israel announced the hull supplier after completing the assembly of the serial variant of the vehicle this summer.
The Israeli Army is currently trialing the vehicle and has completed the first live-fire trials of the Iron Fist active protection system that has been installed on the vehicle by Elbit Systems.
The 8×8 APC will be powered by a 750 horsepower engine and will be capable of achieving a speed of 90 km/h and more. Israel plans to build several variants in the Eitan family of vehicles, ranging from troop carriers to medium-sized combat vehicles equipped with 30-40 mm cannons.
