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Three U.S.-built Stryker combat vehicles are due to arrive here Sept. 9 for extensive field testing, the results of which will determine whether Israel ends up purchasing hundreds of the light personnel carriers.
In interviews here, Israeli officials said the Strykers, built by Sterling Heights, Mich.-based General Dynamics Land Systems, would first undergo a series of tests to assess how the generic Stryker chassis operates in desert, mountainous and urban warfare conditions.
Toward the middle of 2005, the U.S.-built vehicles will be outfitted with locally developed armor and weapon stations geared toward possible Israeli-specific Stryker missions. Prototype testing of the locally enhanced Strykers is expected to continue through the end of 2005, and could include up to eight different variants of the Stryker, including a version for paratrooper insertion and special operations; an engineering version to detect mines and explosive devices; an anti-tank combat variant; and a version for medical and search-and-rescue operations.
Amos Yaron, director-general of Israel’s Ministry of Defense, said the Stryker technology demonstration program will allow Israeli decision-makers to determine how the U.S.-built Stryker can best meet Israeli military requirements. “We anticipate tremendous benefits from this system, especially once it is equipped with Israeli systems and technologies,” Yaron told DefenseNews.com.
Yaron, a retired major general who commanded several divisions in his former career, said the Stryker “certainly has a place in many units of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces].”
He added, however, that budget considerations will factor heavily in Israel’s ultimate decision to purchase the vehicles or not. “It will be much easier to make budget decisions regarding Stryker after these [locally-built] systems are installed and proven.”
In a critical mid-June meeting, the IDF General Staff decided to defer an estimated $200 million to $250 million multiyear budgetary commitment to the Stryker program for the purchase of hundreds of vehicles. Instead, the General Staff opted to fund only the Stryker technology demonstration program, which will continue through December 2005.
The General Staff’s decision to defer Stryker procurement was a temporary setback for Maj. Gen. Yiftah Ron-Tal, commander of Israel’s Land Forces Command, who has hailed Israeli-upgraded versions of the Stryker as the keystone of his proposed multiyear Infantry Mobility modernization program.
Nevertheless, Ron-Tal said in late July that he remains confident that the General Staff and Ministry of Defense ultimately will endorse what he termed “significant purchases” of the Stryker for use in urban anti-terror operations, as well as for future deployments on the conventional battlefield.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=3156891&C=mideast
In interviews here, Israeli officials said the Strykers, built by Sterling Heights, Mich.-based General Dynamics Land Systems, would first undergo a series of tests to assess how the generic Stryker chassis operates in desert, mountainous and urban warfare conditions.
Toward the middle of 2005, the U.S.-built vehicles will be outfitted with locally developed armor and weapon stations geared toward possible Israeli-specific Stryker missions. Prototype testing of the locally enhanced Strykers is expected to continue through the end of 2005, and could include up to eight different variants of the Stryker, including a version for paratrooper insertion and special operations; an engineering version to detect mines and explosive devices; an anti-tank combat variant; and a version for medical and search-and-rescue operations.
Amos Yaron, director-general of Israel’s Ministry of Defense, said the Stryker technology demonstration program will allow Israeli decision-makers to determine how the U.S.-built Stryker can best meet Israeli military requirements. “We anticipate tremendous benefits from this system, especially once it is equipped with Israeli systems and technologies,” Yaron told DefenseNews.com.
Yaron, a retired major general who commanded several divisions in his former career, said the Stryker “certainly has a place in many units of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces].”
He added, however, that budget considerations will factor heavily in Israel’s ultimate decision to purchase the vehicles or not. “It will be much easier to make budget decisions regarding Stryker after these [locally-built] systems are installed and proven.”
In a critical mid-June meeting, the IDF General Staff decided to defer an estimated $200 million to $250 million multiyear budgetary commitment to the Stryker program for the purchase of hundreds of vehicles. Instead, the General Staff opted to fund only the Stryker technology demonstration program, which will continue through December 2005.
The General Staff’s decision to defer Stryker procurement was a temporary setback for Maj. Gen. Yiftah Ron-Tal, commander of Israel’s Land Forces Command, who has hailed Israeli-upgraded versions of the Stryker as the keystone of his proposed multiyear Infantry Mobility modernization program.
Nevertheless, Ron-Tal said in late July that he remains confident that the General Staff and Ministry of Defense ultimately will endorse what he termed “significant purchases” of the Stryker for use in urban anti-terror operations, as well as for future deployments on the conventional battlefield.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=3156891&C=mideast