Determined to proceed with the upgrade of 500 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers (APVs), also known as “ducks”, the Army General Staff (AGS) is considering all available options.
Of Christos Mazanitis
A few days ago, in fact, a group of Israelis visited the Army General Staff, where they presented to the staff proposals for the program to upgrade the TOM M113.
According to full confirmation of enikos.gr, who first wrote about the issue last year in September, the leadership of the Army decided to proceed with the upgrade of 500 units of the thousands of M113s it has.
The information, which we have published on enikos.gr, states that the leadership has reportedly settled on a number of around 500 M113s which will be radically upgraded in terms of their capabilities, crew safety and engines.
The more than 2,400 M113s have served for more than 40 years in the Greek Army and exist in various versions, covering the needs of many units. And as the military staff believes, the M113s cannot be thrown away, nor can they be easily replaced, given that the country’s finances do not favor such a thing.
As we mentioned, the war in Israel showed that M113s are too tough to die. There the “ducks” are used in the operations in Gaza and indeed with great safety – which is the point – for the crew and the personnel it transports.
The GES focuses on three areas in terms of upgrading:
- More powerful engines / gearbox / steering system
- Air conditioning system
- Upgraded armor
The upgrade of all vehicles has been decided by GES to be carried out on Greek soil.
However, there is also interest from the domestic industry, which submits competitive proposals, with what this entails for the Greek economy.
Source: www.enikos.gr
