Several years ago in Israel began the development of a promising armored personnel carrier with the code "Eitan". To date, the development work has been completed, and measures have been taken to prepare the series. On February 9, the Israeli Ministry of Defense officially announced the launch of mass production of such equipment.
Path to the series
The development of a promising armored personnel carrier began in 2014 as a result of the next operation of the Israel Defense Forces. The fighting confirmed the need to build and deploy more heavy armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles with a high level of protection. The new project was created by the Directorate of Armored Vehicles of the Ministry of Defense with the participation of a number of Israeli and foreign companies. The latter were mainly considered as suppliers of certain components.
The design took about two years, and already in 2016, the first prototype was brought out for testing. Until mid-2018, the first Eitan was tested alone, after which the second prototype was sent to the test site. In 2019, the third armored personnel carrier was shown for the first time. During the same period, tests were carried out on new fighting compartments and modules of various kinds. In particular, the third prototype became a platform for testing a new turret with weapons.
Finally, on February 9, the IDF announced the launch of mass production of equipment. The first few vehicles have been laid, and construction will continue until next year. The transfer of the first batch to the customer is scheduled for the end of 2021. With the help of the new "Eytans", the IDF plans to gradually replace the outdated armored personnel carriers of the M113 family.
Industrial cooperation
The main features of the production of new technology are known. The final assembly of the armored vehicles will be carried out by Israel; local enterprises will also start producing some components and assemblies. Other components are planned to be purchased from foreign suppliers. In some cases, this will provide significant benefits.
In total, more than 60 companies, mainly Israeli and American, are involved in the production processes of "Eytan". Also, contracts have been concluded with companies from other countries. We are talking about both manufacturers of military equipment and suppliers from the civilian sphere.
The MASHA-7000 repair and restoration center in Tel Hashomer will become the head enterprise for assembling "Eytanov". Now this organization is busy building Merkava tanks and Namer armored personnel carriers. There are reports of the deployment of new production facilities and the recruitment of employees - probably these measures are directly related to the production of promising technology. Expansion of production and creation of jobs will allow the assembly of armored personnel carriers without prejudice to the orders already in progress.
The main task of the MASHA-7000 will be the assembly of ready-made armored personnel carriers. At the same time, the production of individual components will be carried out. In the early stages, the repair and restoration center will have to make a noticeable number of units, but then their share will decrease and will not exceed 10%.
The IDF plans to reduce the cost of the Eitan with US military aid. For this, at least half of the units for armored personnel carriers must be purchased in the United States. We are talking about transmission elements, on-board equipment, some weapons, etc.
An additional way of saving is the design approach: the project makes the most of the commercial components available on the market. In addition, the developments on other projects of armored vehicles were applied, incl. main tanks and tracked armored personnel carriers / infantry fighting vehicles.
So far, it is only known that the first "Eitan" will be manufactured and transferred to the IDF before the end of next year. The number of cars in the first batch and the cost of the contract have not been specified. However, it is known that a serial armored personnel carrier of a new type, depending on the configuration, should cost about $ 3 million. Part of this price will be covered by American aid.
IDF plans for the total number of serial "Eitan" also remain unknown. In the past, officials have spoken of hundreds of APCs during the twenties, but more precise figures have not been released.
Nevertheless, the data on the purchases of individual components allow us to say that about 50 vehicles will be delivered soon. In the future, new orders may appear. The Eitan is intended to replace the outdated M113, one of the most numerous vehicles in the Israeli army. There are more than 6 thousand old armored personnel carriers in service and in storage, and the replacement of this fleet requires a large amount of modern technology.
Final look
The main technical features of the Eitan armored personnel carrier were announced back in 2016. In the future, the appearance of the vehicle was repeatedly specified, which was soon reported by open sources. The standard for the series was the third prototype, largely similar to the first prototype. At the same time, experimental vehicles differ in the composition of equipment and weapons, which will affect the production equipment.
The project proposes the construction of a wheeled armored personnel carrier on a four-axle chassis. The layout is standard for modern cars of this class. The general architecture of the machine and the composition of the units are determined taking into account the reduction in the cost of production and operation. At the same time, measures were taken to increase the level of protection against all threats characteristic of the IDF's areas of operation.
The eight-wheeled chassis is powered by a 750 hp diesel engine. MTU brands. The torque is distributed using an Allison automatic transmission. Used an independent spring suspension with the placement of parts outside the armored hull. With a mass of 30-35 tons "Eitan" should develop a maximum speed of 90 km / h on the highway; on rough terrain - at least 50 km / h.
More than 20 tons of armored steel are used for the manufacture of the vehicle body. It is claimed that such a hull provides a high level of ballistic and mine protection, but the exact parameters are not disclosed. Earlier it was proposed to equip "Eitan" with the complex of active protection "Meil Ruach", but then the plans changed. Now the armored personnel carriers should receive the KAZ "Hetz Dorban" - a contract for dozens of such products was signed in January. KAZ launchers will be mounted in pairs to control different hemispheres.
Several weapon options are offered. The first prototypes carried the Katlanit DBM with a heavy machine gun. The third used a turret with a 30mm cannon and other weapons. Also, the development of a new combat module with missile and cannon armament continues.
The project is notable for the extensive use of modern electronics. So, along the perimeter of the building there are 10 cameras for driving and monitoring the situation; the video signal is output to 5 monitors in the habitable compartments. There are modern means of communication and control, including armored personnel carriers in a common information space.
Earlier it was reported that in the manned sections of the armored personnel carrier there are places for 12 people. The serial version of the vehicle will be able to carry 13 people - 3 crew members and 10 paratroopers. At the same time, the principles of placement, landing and landing in the course of fine-tuning did not change.
First of its kind
It should be noted that Project Eitan is the first of its kind for the IDF. The basis of the Israeli fleet of armored personnel carriers for several decades have been tracked vehicles of the M113 family. There are also other types of vehicles with a similar chassis. Wheeled armored personnel carrier of its own design was created for the first time in history. And the first project of this class was brought to a series.
Next year, the IDF will receive the first samples of new equipment, and by the end of this decade it is planned to create a full-fledged fleet of the desired size. The Israeli Defense Ministry promises that new projects will change the face of the army. How it will be affected by the launch of serial production of the Eitan armored personnel carrier will become clear later.
