The vulnerability of armored personnel carriers (APCs) in the Gaza Strip and Iraq is boosting demand for reactive armor sets manufactured by Rafael (Israel Armament Development Company).
The US Army in Iraq will increase the pace at which it is adding armor to Bradley APCs, and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will begin equipping its M113 APCs (Zeldas) with Rafael armor.
A report in “Defense News” said that Rafael would soon increase the its rate of deliveries of upgraded reactive armor kits to the US Army in Iraq, in order to minimize the damage caused by attacks there on Bradley APCs. Roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) on these APCs have killed 150 US soldiers.
At the same time, Israeli Ministry of Defense and defense industry sources said that the IDF was planning to use Rafael reactive armor to protect its M113 APCs. Two hits on these APCs in the Gaza Strip, one by a roadside bomb and one by an RPG, killed eleven IDF soldiers last week.
In response to the US procurement, Rafael USA president and CEO Yigal Ben-Hanan told “Globes” that Rafael and General Dynamics Armaments and Technical Products (GDATP), Rafael’s partners for marketing the armor in the US, had asked the US Congress to allocate $45 million to finance US Army procurement of the armor in the 2005 fiscal year.
Ben-Hanan said that chances were good that Congress would approve the request in full, despite budgetary pressures, in view of the escalating armed opposition to the US in Iraq, and the proven effectiveness of the armor.
GDATP sources said that the company was manufacturing 140 sets of Rafael’s reactive armor under two contracts: 80 sets for $23.5 million under one contract, and 60 sets for $17 million under the other.
An IDF officer told “Defense News” that he regretted that budgetary constraints had delayed efforts to upgrade M113 APCs with Rafael reactive armor.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on May 19, 2004