Marines' New Ride, Made in Israel

[Ian David]

The Marines are getting more and more fed up with ol skool Humvees. So the Corps is buying as many new, better-armored, bomb-deflecting vehicles as they can. That includes Cougars and Buffaloes -- based on South African designs, and built in South Carolina. And soon, it'll mean Israeli armored vehicles, as well.

Israel's state-owned weapons manufacturer, Rafael, has signed up to "deliver 60 of its new Golan
vehicles at a total price of $37 million," the AP reports. It's "the latest in a long line of Israeli defense sales destined for the Iraqi theater."



The AP couldn't seem to name any examples. Here are a few, off the top of my head: Hunter and Pioneer drones, "explosive" armor, combat headsets ... ooh, and spyballs. "Rafael already supplies the U.S. Army with certain types of armored personnel carriers," Ha'Aretz says.

The latest addition, the Golan armored vehicle, is being pitched as "capable of withstanding armor-piercing machine-gun rounds, rocket fire and bomb blasts. It can carry up to 10 troops up to 600 kilometers (360 miles) on a tank of gas and can be outfitted as a fighting vehicle, mobile command post or ambulance."

<snip>

Protection from anti-tank rockets... can be provided by appliqué reactive armor modules or an active protection system which are plug-in' add-ons to the basic design."

The Army recently rejected Rafael's active protection system, to defend its Humvees against rocket-propelled grenades. Maybe the Marines will be get a chance to try out the defense first.

More:
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/03/the_marines_are.html

[soothsayer]

1. well they sure need something. COming home would be better.

[bemildred]

2. Oh goody, an arms race.

More armor vs bigger bombs.