Oshkosh Corporation’s wholly owned subsidiary has been awarded a contract to build the main hulls of the Israeli Defence Forces’ Eitan armoured personnel carriers (APC).
Awarded by the Israeli Ministry of Defence (IMoD), the contract will see Oshkosh Defense produce hundreds of Eitan APC hulls.
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The contract is valued at more than $100m and production work under it will begin this year.
Oshkosh Defense chief programme officer Pat Williams said: “Oshkosh Defense continues to enhance our innovative manufacturing processes to deliver world class vehicles and mobility systems.
“The Eitan APC contract is just another example of our ability to leverage leading edge technology to provide our customers advanced combat vehicle solutions.”
According to the US company, the first batch of hulls for the Eitan APCs will reach Israel within one-and-a-half years.
The fully assembled vehicles will then be transferred to the Israeli Defence Forces for operational use.
In June last year, the IMoD announced the roll out of the first serially produced Eitan APC at the Merkava factory at Tel HaShomer.
Eitan is an eight-wheeled APC that features high, all-terrain manoeuvring capabilities, the ‘Iron Fist’ defence system, peripheral cameras, and other advanced technologies. It is being developed by the IMoD’s Tank and APC Directorate.
Oshkosh Defense International vice-president John Lazar said: “We are honoured to have been selected by the Israeli Ministry of Defence to build the Eitan APC hull.
“We’ve worked with IMoD on a multitude of programmes for more than a decade, and we look forward to demonstrating our continued commitment to this partnership.”
