The Israeli Defense Forces are using new Eitan armored fighting vehicles in combat operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Photos of these AFVs in combat conditions were published by the Israeli military.
This is the first combat use of this Israeli armored fighting vehicle.
The first mass-produced Eitan armored fighting vehicles entered service with the Israeli army this spring.
Israel is currently conducting a ground operation against the Palestinian militants of Hamas.
Eitan armored fighting vehicles are used on the front lines of Israeli forces, along with tank units and infantry conducting assault operations in the urban areas of the Gaza Strip.
Eitan is an 8-wheeled armored fighting vehicle weighing up to 35 tons. The vehicle has a maximum speed of 90 km/h and can carry twelve people, including three crew members. The armor of the vehicle is STANAG 4569 level 4. The AFV is equipped with the Iron Fist Light Decoupled active protection system.
The armored fighting vehicle can be armed with a large-caliber machine gun or automatic guns and ATGMs.
The Israeli military received the first production of Eitan armored fighting vehicles in May 2023. Before that, the brigade soldiers who received these vehicles practiced various scenarios for using the new armored fighting vehicles.
Last December, it became known that the Israeli Ministry of Defense had selected Oshkosh Defense as a partner for producing hulls for Eitan armored fighting vehicles. The deal was valued at more than $100 million.
Adapting the IDF to new challenges
For the ground operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military has equipped most of its heavy armored vehicles with cope cages.
Such designs should further strengthen the protection of Israeli tanks, in particular, from drone attacks on the top of the vehicle, where their thinnest armor is located.