Israel’s war ministry announced approval for a major upgrade to the occupation army’s ground forces on Sunday including a new fleet of hundreds of armored troop carriers and the development of a new cannon.
The Ministerial Committee on Security Affairs approved the plan to purchase hundreds of Eitan armored fighting vehicles developed by IAI IMI and Rafael and anew cannon the ministry said in a statement.
According to Hebrew-speaking sources the upgrade is part of the five-year Gideon Plan designed to make the army operationally more efficient and more cost effective.
Starting in 2020 the eight-wheeled Eitan vehicle will begin replacing the army’s current M113 fully tracked APCs. It combines technology from the Merkava tank and the Namer APC but at a cheaper price.
The upgrade is allegedly in response to lessons learned from the 2014 offensive on the blockaded Gaza Strip and is intended to give troops greater speed and mobility in similar aggressions.
