By the end of the year, the IDF Engineering corps will be inaugurating a new armored personnel carrier (APC) codenamed Tigress. After years of development Tigress will allow the Engineering crops to travel in a more protected vehicle that is specially equipped to handle missions that the corps is tasked with. Some of the regular tasks and missions will now be able to be completed without having to leave the vehicle at all, and therefore reduce the amount of exposure of the soldiers to enemy fire.
Up until now the engineering corps has largely been using the puma model of the APC. The newer tigress model is a significant upgrade, one which will enable the corps to be a safer and more effective fighting force.
The effectiveness of the security on the tigress was proved in Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014. The previous APC model, code named tiger, which the tigress is based off of, faced numerous large scale attacks and survived without significant damage or injury to the crew. Among those attacks were multiple RPG strikes on the same APC simultaneously, and a one-ton explosive that demolished a house on top of a tiger APC. In both attacks not a single soldier inside the APC was injured. In the attack involving the one ton bomb, and the house collapse, the APC was unscathed aside from some paint issues.
The new tigress APC, “is based on the same system but it is also specially designed for the engineering corps and their combat needs. In addition the tigress offers more protection and has more to carry 10 soldiers which means a larger number of engineering soldiers can head into battle,” said Major Itai Bar, head of training at the IDF Engineering School in an interview with military news site pzm.co.il which is operated by MAKO news site. “There are special compartments and equipment modules for engineering soldiers and their gear that have been put in place on the tigress. This too is a significant improvement over the current puma model.”
Major Bar continued to praise the advanced vehicle. “We will be able to carry out all of the same missions that we do now, with less exposure to the enemy.” The tigress can operate in extreme weather conditions, and for many missions such as clearing minefields, soldiers do not have to leave the safety of the carrier. The carrier itself can now clear the fields,as well as complete other missions which the IDF kept secret.
The vehicle comes equipped with the anti rocket and RPG system known as wind-jacket as well as other defensive systems that are classified. It is more comfortable and spacious for the soldiers and allows exiting from the rear and roof, unlike the puma model which only allowed exiting from the roof.
Additionally the vehicle is also deadlier. Major Bar noted that the tigress has a greater firing capability than the puma model. “In the puma we only had an external machine gun capable of attacking or protecting the vehicle. In the tigress we have additional firing systems which can be operated from within the APC, which is an important addition for the engineering corps which often finds itself on the front lines.
The new vehicle has already passed testing and is being used to train new soldiers at the engineering school. It will be deployed throughout the corps, including to military reserve units, by the end of the year.