For the first time, the Israeli army is sending what is probably the most modern wheeled tank ever to the battlefield in Gaza. The Eitan has unique abilities that have never been combined before.
Gaza – Not in the Ukraine war. Not on the US side. Not from the German arms industry. And certainly not from Russia. The war in Israel has put a wheeled tank on the agenda that has never existed in this form before. Its crew protection characteristics and enemy combat capabilities combined are considered unique.
Fight against Hamas in Gaza: Israel uses state-of-the-art Eitan wheeled tanks for the first time
We are talking about the Eitan APC. The Israeli army describes it as one of the best protected wheeled tanks in the world. And: There are a number of understandable arguments for this thesis. The Eitan is a prime example of the essential doctrine of the Israeli land forces to protect the lives of their people as best as possible. This includes, among other things, the motto “no one is left behind”.
Everything possible should always be done to ensure that the soldiers return alive from their mission. Israel knows that it is a very small country with around 9.4 million inhabitants and that the proportion of the population capable of fighting is finite. The Eitan was designed with this maxim in mind and was not handed over to the army until May 2023. Now the first Eitan wheeled tanks have been spotted on tweets from the Israel Defense Force (IDF) in Gaza. It is their first combat mission.
The Eitan APC: wheeled tank protects Israeli crews particularly well against landmines
As with the Merkava main battle tank and the Namer infantry fighting vehicle, proven design was incorporated into the wheeled tank of the future. A V-shaped tray base is intended to divert the devastating effects of landmines and other booby traps to the outside. The armored hull also has double armor. On the one hand through solid armor steel, on the other hand through composite armor.
This is apparently attached to the body in the tile system. When anti-tank guided missiles impact, the tiles explode on the outside and are intended to prevent a shaped charge projectile from penetrating the interior and having a fatal effect on the crew. The tiles are also easy to maintain as they can be easily replaced. The Trophy active protection system can also detect and combat missiles and other projectiles on approach. It is intended to protect against anti-tank guided weapons and reactive anti-tank rifles such as the dreaded Soviet-made RPG-7.
The Eitan APC: Israel’s state-of-the-art wheeled tank – armament, crew, protection
Type: | Israeli wheeled infantry fighting vehicle |
Crew: | 3 (driver, commander, rifleman) and up to 12 infantrymen |
put into service: | May 2023 |
Armament: | 30mm cannon on turret, 40mm grenade launcher, 7.62×51 machine gun |
Protection: | Trophy active protection system against anti-tank weapons, armored steel and composite armor, V-shaped floor pan against mines |
Engine: | Diesel engine with 750 hp from MTU (from Germany) |
Speed: | 95 km/h on the road |
Range: | 800 km on the road, around 500 km off-road |
Weight: | around 40 tons with a full crew |
Length Width Height | 7.23 m / t2.39 m / 2.31 m |
The Eitan APC: Trophy system with fragmentation cone against anti-tank guided weapons
A small, splinter-proof radar system with four flat antennas on the roof is intended to ensure a 360-degree all-round view. Distance and likely impact point are calculated within milliseconds. The Trophy system then fires a cone of shrapnel that destroys the incoming projectile like a shotgun.
What is also innovative is not only the digital fire control system for the 30 mm cannon on a rotating turret, the 40 mm grenade launcher and a 7.62×51 machine gun. But also digital synchronization with other combat vehicles from the same formation. This means that the commanders and gunners in the various wheeled tanks can exchange the same information in real time during operations and react to it together. For example, on an enemy vehicle in front of them.
The Eitan APC: Agile wheeled tank for operations in the city – like in Gaza against Hamas
Compared to the Namer infantry fighting vehicles (around 60 tons), the Eitan weighs significantly less with a total weight of around 40 tons. This helps in off-road missions because it doesn’t get stuck as quickly as a heavy battle tank. The Eitan is powered by a 750 horsepower diesel engine from Germany’s MTU as it carries twelve infantry into battle. In addition, the wheeled tank with its four axles is very mobile and maneuverable and therefore better suited for use in cities. For example in Gaza City, as now reported. It is not known whether the Eitan in northern Israel is also intended to protect against the terrorist militia Hezbollah, which is now even threatening the USA. So far, according to reports, only a small number of the tanks from our own production have been delivered. (pm)
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