In Tel Aviv, the Israeli Ministry of Defense has announced the sale of M-113 armored vehicles belonging to various versions.
The announcement was made by the Directorate for International Defense Cooperation of the Israeli Ministry of Defense with a deadline for expression of interest set for next June 25th. The Israeli Defense emphasizes that the M-113s available for sale are offered in their current condition, sold as is, with no warranty, while the cost of transporting will be borne by the buyer.
The invitation to purchase is open to all countries, with the opportunity to obtain approval from the United States who, in their time, produced the APCs and who may exercise a veto right to third-party sales.
According to estimates, Israel has an availability of about 5,000 M-113s, of which 500 are in active service and the other 4,500 many of which are now used only for spare parts.
In service for more than fifty years
The M113 have been in service in the Israeli Army since the early Seventies of the last century, in time for the Yom Kippur War and subsequently in all the conflicts that IDF has fought, including the ongoing ones.
Over the years Israelis made several modifications to the M113 received from the United States, with new and greater protections, equipment of all kinds, resulting in special versions exclusively in service with IDF.
Meanwhile, over the decades, the M113s proper ‘taxis’ to carry infantry close to a target have shown increasing resistance limits to RPG, anti-tank missiles, mines and improvised explosive devices (IED).
The Israeli Army, aware of the situation, began to replace the M113 of the leading units with the Namer tracked heavy APC derived from the old Merkava hulls now withdrawn from service and transformed into armored troop-carry vehicles.
The M113 were gradually reduced to second-line units and reserves to avoid losses. The Israel Army is currently replacing the M-113s with the Namers and an increasing number of 8×8 wheeled Eitan APCs, developed and produced in Israel in cooperation with the United States.
Source: Ministry of Defense of Israel
