Is the IDF preparing for a major ground operation in the war?
The Defense Ministry reported this morning that its procurement delegation in New York signed the first stage of a deal to acquire JLTV off-road vehicles. The purchase involves dozens of armored maneuvering combat vehicles for use by the IDF’s mobile forces. The deal is estimated at approximately $26 million, including maintenance.
The current deal joins a series of transactions recently signed as part of the strategy led by Defense Minister Israel Katz and the ministry’s Director-General, Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram, to provide full support for all of the IDF’s immediate and long-term needs.
The Pereh entered service in the IDF at the beginning of Operation Iron Swords, with the first units arriving on flights from the United States. Since then, hundreds of vehicles have been delivered to the IDF, and the decision is ultimately to purchase thousands, replacing the outdated, slow, and less-armored M113 APC fleet. The vehicle is produced by the American Oshkosh company, after being developed to replace the Hummer vehicles in the U.S. It is equipped with armor manufactured by the Israeli company Plasan.
Unlike the M-113, the Pereh is wheeled rather than tracked, providing advantages in speed and maneuverability in increasingly common urban combat scenarios, at the expense of off-road mobility in terrains such as desert warfare.
Another advantage of using wheels is the vehicle’s ability to move independently to the battlefield, without needing transport by tank carriers, which are not always available.