The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has acquired 2,000 surplus Hummer vehicles from the US Army to help expand its ground forces combat vehicles fleet.
The A0 and A1 models of Hummers purchased under an undisclosed contract are scheduled to undergo an extensive repair and upgrade process over the course of three years, prior to delivery to IDF.
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Further modification according to the specific operational requirements of the operating units will follow once the vehicles arrive in Israel.
Major Amit Trep, head of the department of weapons mobility, said that the newly acquired vehicles would be used by the IDF during combat reconnaissance missions and also as administrative vehicles.
"Most of them will be used [only] in case of emergency, and during routine situations they will remain in warehouses, since the Hummers that we use today for routine activities are more advanced," Trep added.
Several hundred Hummers will undergo extensive reinforcement and be operated for routine purposes and training missions.
The IDF will maintain the majority of Hummers in dry storage, along with advanced sleeves for extensive protection, and continuous electrical supply for recharge, in order to keep vehicles operationally ready for deployment in emergencies.
The first of the 2,000 vehicles will arrive in Israel within a year, with the upgrade process expected to start in early 2013.
"The vehicles will arrive at a rate of over 100 vehicles per month, so that within less than two years the warehouses will be full, due to the significant addition of the Hummers," Trep added.
"The new vehicles, which will expand our fleet, will significantly improve our manoeuvring ability during an emergency."
