Eitan (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
for "steadfast", "firm" or "strong") is an
armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle (British English) or armored fighting vehicle (American English) (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by vehicle armour, armour, generally combining operational mobility with Offensive (military), offensive a ...
(AFV) developed by the
Merkava
The Merkava (, , "chariot") is a series of main battle tanks used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) which are the backbone of the Armored Corps (Israel), IDF's Armored Corps. Current iterations of this tank are considered broadly equivalent t ...
and Armoured Vehicles Directorate in the
IMOD to replace the ageing
M113 armoured personnel carrier
The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier (APC) that was developed and produced by the FMC Corporation. The M113 was sent to United States Army Europe in 1961 to replace the mechanized infantry's M59 APCs. The M113 was first used ...
in use by the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
.
Its
armored personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world.
Acc ...
(APC) variant lacks the
Iron Fist APS, due to the fact those are not the serial production Eitan vehicles yet. The
infantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...
(IFV) variant is still not in service.
Overview
The Eitan is an 8-wheeled vehicle much lighter than the
Namer
Namer (, ; meaning "leopard," and also a syllabic abbreviation of "Nagmash" (APC) and "Merkava") is an Israeli armoured personnel carrier based on a Merkava#Merkava Mark IV, Merkava Mark IV tank chassis. Namer was developed by and is being asse ...
, weighing less than 35 tons, fitted with the
Iron Fist Light Decoupled active protection system
An active protection system (APS) is a system designed to actively prevent certain anti-tank weapons from destroying a vehicle.
Countermeasures that either conceal the vehicle from or disrupt the guidance of an incoming guided missile threat are ...
. The AFV has a top speed of 90 km/h and can carry up to 12 soldiers including 3 crew. The Eitan can be equipped with a 30–40 mm gun and a missile firing position with 2
Spike missiles. The armour is rated to the standard
STANAG 4569 level 4.
The Eitan will replace hundreds of M113 APC currently in service.
According to Brigadier General Baruch Matzliah, the vehicle will complement, not replace, the Namer tracked APC; as a wheeled vehicle, it will cost half as much as the Namer ($3 million) and, unlike tracked vehicles, can transport infantry squads on roads without relying on
tank transporters.
The Eitan has the capability to use
run-flat tires and is designed with a
NERA composite armour and high floor to protect from landmine and
IED blast effects.
The first Eitan AFV was unveiled on August 1, 2016.
Serial production started in 2022, and the
Nahal Brigade became the first Israeli infantry unit to receive the Eitan in May 2023. The brigade first used the Eitan during the
Battle of Zikim on 7 October 2023, and there were plans to use the vehicle in the subsequent
invasion of the Gaza Strip.
See also
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eitan AFV (Vehicle)
Armoured personnel carriers of Israel
Wheeled armoured personnel carriers
Eight-wheeled vehicles
Armoured personnel carriers of the post–Cold War period