The IDF and the Ministry of Defense have begun the process of replacing the old REO trucks used by the IDF in recent decades. In recent days, the Ministry of Defense Procurement and Production Directorate (PPD) has signed a huge deal with US company Oshkosh, which will supply 200 new FMTV trucks to the IDF over the next 18 months. These trucks will gradually replace the REOs. The Ministry of Defense said the deal would cost NIS 200 million.
The first FMTV trucks will be delivered to the IDF during the coming year. The FMTV is a tactical truck equipped with a 7.2-liter engine and capable of carrying loads of up to eight tons.
The IDF and the Ministry of Defense already bought six of these trucks over the past year. The trucks were used mainly to test their suitability for the IDF's operational and current needs and for transporting soldiers and loads of various types.
In recent years, the IDF and the Ministry of Defense procured several dozen of an older Oshkosh model from US army surplus. This procurement followed the withdrawal of US forces from combat areas in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Production of the REO trucks that the IDF plans to replace began in 1955. Informed sources said today that when the new truck deal is completed, the Ministry of Defense will conclude another procurement deal, and may buy several hundred more new trucks of this model.
At the same time, the Ministry of Defense and the IDF are also considering the procurement of more Oshkosh trucks to renew the IDF emergency inventory, which is also based on outmoded trucks. In this case, procurement will be from US army surpluses. It is believed that the US army will put several thousand trucks up for sale in the next two-three years at substantially lower prices.
The new truck deal is being funded with US aid money, which will amount to $38 billion over the next decade.
PPD deputy director Itzik Levy said today that the new truck deal also includes maintenance services that will be provided at a number of centers throughout Israel, and will create more jobs.
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on January 11, 2017
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