צפו: לראשונה בצה"ל - נגמ"ש על גלגלים

A new armored carrier just completed by the Merkava Tank Administration at Israel's Ministry of Defense is being hailed by top army brass as a great advance in military technology.

According to a government press release, the new vehicle, called the "Eitan," is set to be the world's most advanced and protected wheeled combat vehicle. It is the first wheeled armored carrier to appear in the IDF.

According to the press release, the new vehicle features significantly improved mobility on a variety of terrain in contrast to previous models, and can reach speeds of up to 90 kilometers an hour.

Brig. Gen. Baruch Matzliah, Head of the Merkava Tank Administration, explained that the armored vehicle comes as a result of lessons gleaned from Operation Protective Edge concerning the need for state-of-the-art equipment: "The decision to develop the Eitan was made in light of lessons learned during Operation Protective Edge, and the increased need to replace thousands of the IDF's veteran M113 APCs with modern tools with maximum protection, tailored to the existing threats in the arena.

"The series of exercises which we recently began, is allowing the IDF to test the tool in a variety of sites ahead of decisions regarding the volume of the purchase," he added.