ציטוט:

TEL AVIV — Israel’s Defense Ministry is preparing to launch initial development of Rakiya, a family of light, lethal and self-protected armored vehicles optimized for urban battles beyond 2020. The ambitious program, a fifth-generation follow-on to Israel’s Merkava Mk4 tank, is known here by its Hebrew acronym Rakiya (Horizon), which translates into Future Manned Combat Vehicle (FMCV). Managed by the recently established Rakiya unit within MoD’s Defense Research and Development Directorate, the program involves nearly all branches of MoD and Israel’s Ground Force Command, starting with Merkava Program Directorate and Armored Corps and extending through Infantry, Artillery, Ordnance and Combat Engineering. Retired Israeli Army Brig. Gen. Didi Benyoash, a veteran of Israel’s Defense Research and Development Directorate and chief armor officer in the Israeli Army reserves, was appointed last summer to lead the effort. Operational requirements for Israel’s future armored force could be approved as early as January, sources here said, following months of MoD-led coordination with Brig. Gen. Yaron Livnat, Merkava program manager; Brig. Gen. Ofer Tsafrir, chief armored officer; Brig. Gen. Haim Rubin, chief of the Army’s Technology Division; and others. And while design features of the new FMCV will depend on operational requirements now wending up the approval chain, military officers said the new vehicles are likely to be wheeled, agile and nearly half the weight of the 65-ton Merkava Mk4. “We don’t yet have an operational requirement, but our people are looking ahead and trying to anticipate future needs,” an Army general officer said. “We’re probably going to need a defended, quick, armored platform that can maneuver decisively in an urban environment and bring sufficient numbers of people and equipment to built-up areas. ... For that, we may not need a tank in the traditional sense,” the officer, a participant in the effort, told Defense News. Sources here insist the FMCVs will not replace 65-ton Merkava Mk4s or Namer heavy troop carriers, which will continue to be built through 2020 and remain in service for decades to come.

המשך:
http://www.defensenews.com/article/...rmored-Vehicles

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