The Golan Wheeled Armored Vehicle () is a prototype Israeli

MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAPV), also known as MRAP vehicle, is a type of armoured personnel carrier that is designed specifically to withstand land mines, improvised explosive device (IED) attacks, and ambushes to save troops' li ...

made by the Israeli

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. () is an Israeli Defense contractor, defense technology company. It was founded as Israel's National R&D Defense Laboratory for the development of weapons and military technology within the Ministry of Defens ...

jointly with Protected Vehicles Incorporated. The mission of the Golan is to provide maximum protection to its passengers and crew. The Golan platform may be adapted to serve as an armored personnel carrier, command vehicle, ambulance or intelligence collection vehicle. In the personnel carrier role, it has capacity of up to 10 soldiers. The V shaped hull and vehicle body has been specifically designed to withstand mines and IED blasts. It is configurable to carry different levels of armor, from light passive armor to heavy

reactive armor Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour used in protecting vehicles, especially modern tanks, against shaped charges and hardened kinetic energy penetrators. The most common type is ''explosive reactive armour'' (ERA), but variants includ ...

that can deflect

RPG RPG may refer to: Military * Rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon **''Ruchnoi Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'' (Russian: ''Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт''), hand-held anti-tank grenade laun ...

s. When equipped with reactive armor, the vehicle is the only MRAP vehicle able to defeat

Explosively Formed Penetrator An explosively formed penetrator (EFP), also known as an explosively formed projectile, a self-forging warhead, or a self-forging fragment, is a special type of shaped charge designed to penetrate armor effectively, from a much greater standoff ...

s, the deadliest type of IED. The

US Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

has placed an order for 60 vehicles to be fielded in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

as Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Category 2 vehicles. It was being considered for large purchases both in the American and Israeli armed forces. The Golan was eliminated from the Marine Corps competition, and most of the vehicles will leave Marine service.

References

Marketing page in RAFAEL
Mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles Armoured fighting vehicles of Israel Wheeled infantry fighting vehicles Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Armoured personnel carriers of Israel Armoured personnel carriers of the post–Cold War period {{mil-vehicle-stub

See also

References