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23 Mar 16. IDF armoured units getting Backtrail logistics trailers. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is in the process of taking delivery of Urdan Backtrail logistics trailers that can be towed by its tanks, armoured personnel carriers (APCs), and armoured engineering vehicles.
Urdan announced on 17 March that the IDF had ordered “dozens” of the trailers.
A military source said on 22 March that the 188th and 7th Armored Divisions have already begun receiving the trailers, while an Urdan company official confirmed that IDF infantry units that operate heavy APCs are also scheduled to receive them.
The military source said the trailers will be used alongside the M548 tracked cargo carriers rather than replace the ageing logistics vehicles.
Urdan said the Backtrail was “developed in response to the critical logistic requirements of the modern battlefield. It enables the continuous provision of supplies – including fuel, water, weapons, etc – to forces fighting in remote and inaccessible locations.”
The trailer has a cargo area measuring 4 x 2 m and can carry up to 1.8 tonnes, according to the company.
“The trailer can carry everything required by soldiers, enabling them to operate independently in the field for long periods,” the company said. “Backtrail can also carry various types of containers for any purpose and can even be used as a field emergency room.”
Urdan launched a four-year development programme in 2008, driving Backtrail models around the Golan Heights and southern Israel in both winter and summer conditions. The trailer received IDF approval to begin mass production and deliveries in 2014.
Avi Raz, the military marketing manager at Urdan, told IHS Jane’s that the trailer can be towed by all versions of the Merkava tank, the Namer and Achzarit heavy APCs, and the Puma armoured engineering vehicle, but is too heavy for the M113 APC.
It can be quickly detached using a disconnect lever and its axel can rotate through 360 o to make reversing easy. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
23 Mar 16. AM General Puts JLTV Defeat in Rearview Mirror. AM General is going to be just fine.
Thanks for the concern.
That sums up the attitude of the South Bend, Indiana-based maker of the venerable Humvee in the wake of the hotly contested competition to field a new light tactical wheeled vehicle, which it lost last year to rival Oshkosh Corp. After the loss, some analysts predicted its owner — billionaire businessman Ron Perelman’s diversified holding company, MacAndrews & Forbes Inc. — would sell off the company. That has not come to pass yet.
“We have got great visibility of a deep pipeline of Humvee sales into the future,” said Chris Vanslager, the company’s executive vice president for defense programs.
Along with sales of new vehicles, the company plans on sustaining and modernizing older models for decades to come. It also has two non-military businesses to keep its plants humming: a subsidiary making purpose-built wheelchair accessible cars and a contract to build station wagons for Mercedes-Benz.
“We’re very bullish about where we are at right now,” Vanslager said in an interview.
The joint Army-Marine Corps program’s original goal was to field a replacement for the Humvee, which went into service in 1985. For starters, it will be quite some time before the JLTV supplants the Humvee, Vanslager said. It will be in the inventory through at least 2048, and perhaps longer.
“According to the DoD’s vehicle strategy, the JLTV does not and will not replace the Humvee. Additionally, the program’s acquisition strategy calls for several years of testing before a full fielding decision is made. At that point, it’s projected the program will take almost 10 years to complete full fielding,” he said.
The JLTV program of record calls for 17,000 units to be delivered in the f