Citat:The Namer is a tracked Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) vehicle designed and developed by the Israeli Ordnance Corps responsible for the development and maintenance of war materiel, combat-support materials, and other systems. The first prototype of this heavily armored personnel carrier, called Namera (Tiger), was based on outdated Merkava Mk.1 MBT chassis. It was revealed and fielded in 2005 for trials and evaluation. This variant was offered for export customers, however, it received no production orders. Conversion plans were abandoned in favor to the newly-built Merkava Mk.4 main battle tank chassis. Production of new vehicles rather than conversion was considered more practical and cost-effective. This variant was publicly revealed in 2008. The Namer (Leopard) heavy armored personnel carrier is a major element of the IDF modernization plan. The latest design of the Namer is based on the Merkava Mk.4 main battle tank chassis. Currently, it is one of the most protected APCs in the world. It provides infantry with the level of protection and mobility matching those of the latest main battle tanks. The first batch of production vehicles was delivered in 2008. In October 2010, Israel’s Defense Ministry has awarded General Dynamics a contract to build 600 Namer (leopard in Hebrew) armored personnel carriers (APC) over the next eight years. The Namer APC is now in service with the IDF (Israel Defense Forces). In August 2012, soldiers of the Golani Brigade participated in an exercise on the IDF's newest and most advanced armored personnel carrier (APC), the Namer (Leopard). The Israel Defense Forces has also developed multi-purpose support versions of the Namer, armed with the Samson weapon station, an unmanned turret armed with one 30mm automatic cannon as well as the Spike anti-tank guided missiles. The current design of the Namer is already prepared for such installations, offering protected storage for weapons separated from the fighting compartment and a strengthened roof able to carry the extra loads.
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