The Israeli Ministry of Defense (MoD) has secured a multi-million-dollar deal for Merkava main battle tank (MBT) and Namer armoured personnel carrier (APC) components with Ashot Ashkelon Industries, with the parts due to be supplied over the coming five-year period.
Announcing the deal in a social media post on 9 April 2025, the Israeli MoD said under the terms of the agreement, critical systems, including 1,500 and 1,200 horsepower transmissions, suspensions, and powertrains, for the Namer APC and Merkava MBT would be provided at a cost of around $26m.
“This agreement marks another significant step in the comprehensive initiative to enhance the operational readiness of Israel’s advanced ground armoured vehicles, including Merkava tanks, Namer and Eitan APCs,” Israel’s MoD stated.
The deal follows a similar agreement with Ashot Ashkelon in late-2024 for Merkava and Namer components, with Israel’s MoD signing contracts valued at $88m (NIS3.3bn) with the company through 2024.
All of the above armoured vehicles have been widely utilised in Israel’s controversial war in Gaza, which erupted again in March after a period of relative calm, with IDF forces moving up into the Netzarim Strip, a thin strip of land that now bisects North and South Gaza.
On 4 April, the IDF stated that its forces had been conducting “ground activity” in the area of Shejaiya in northern Gaza, in order to “expand the security zone”.
Large-scale hostilities broke out between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas regime in October 2023 after large-scale incursions by Hamas fighters into Israel killed around 1,200, mostly civilians, and taking dozens as hostage.
Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry states that since then, more than 40,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed in Israeli military operations in the territory.
Merkava and Namer: armour of the IDF
The Israeli MoD claims that its Merkava tanks, and Namer and Eitan armoured vehicles, have travelled more than one million kilometres on operations during the war in Gaza, indicative of hard use in extensive combat operations through urban environments over the past 18 months.
Since the mid-2000s, the Israeli Army has embarked on an extensive modernisation effort, introducing new APCs, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), and upgraded MBTs.
Analysis conducted in 2023 of Israeli Army vehicles by GlobalData showed a relatively young inventory, with 43.6% of the 6,714 vehicles listed, some 2,927 platforms, being under ten years of age. Just over 36% of its vehicles, or 2,438 units, have been in service between 10-20 years, with 20% (1,340 vehicles) between 20-30 years of age.
Israel does maintain a large number of MBTs, with analysis showing in excess of 2,000 vehicles in its inventory, although this does not indicate those also in service with some platforms being held in reserve or cannibalised for spares. Of the 2,000+ MBTs, around 1,300 are of the Merkava II/III model delivered from 1983-2003 and more than 600 Merkava IV variants introduced into service from 2004.
Along with the Barak/Merkava 5, Israel has also been upgrading its other armoured elements. In June 2023 it received the first new Namer 1500 APC, the vehicles being upgraded variants of the existing Namer APC which was first utilised by the IDF in 2008.
It is not known how many Namer 1500 vehicles will be produced for the IDF. However, in February 2023, Israel’s MoD signed an agreement with Oshkosh Defense to produce “hundreds” of the Namer 1500 variant, financed by US aid. The original Namer, of which 150 are listed in GlobalData’s IDF inventory, was derived from the combination of Nagmash, the Israeli variant of M113 APC and Merkava MBT.
In May 2023, Israel also received the first of the ‘Eitan’ 8×8 APCs after several years of development, with the final fleet expected to number in the hundreds of vehicles.
