In 2006 the Israelis were embroiled in another local conflict, this time against neighboring Lebanon during July and August. The month-long initiative was largely against the forces of Hezbollah and once again was stirred by rocket attacks from militants. The Israeli Army was pressed into service once more and the need for a capable IFV was still apparent until the United Nations stepped in to ink a new ceasefire between the parties. Development and evaluation of the new Israeli IFV continued undeterred to which, by this point, the design was now being built upon the chassis of the new Merkava Mk IV Main Battle Tank series. The original Raphael weapon station was dropped in favor of the new Samson Remote Controlled Weapon Station (RCWS). The rear compartment door of the Merkava Mk IV MBT was enlarged for quicker insertion/extraction of infantry. The standard crew included three personnel made up of the driver, commander and gunner while seating for nine combat-ready infantry was provided for in the rear-set cabin. The fighting compartment dominated the center of the vehicle with the commander to the left hull side and the weapon station to the right front side. A prototype was delivered for review in March of 2008. The system was eventually adopted for frontline service in the Israeli Army that same year under the name of "Nemmera" which, when translated from the native Hebrew, became "Leopardess". However, the name was later revised to "Namer" to become the male-form "Leopard".
Production of the Namer has been ongoing since 2008 to which some 60 units have been produced as of this writing (2012). Additional manufacturing services are being provided by US firms. The selected engine is the American-made Teledyne Continental AVDS-1790-9AR series V12 diesel-fueled, air-cooled, turbocharged engine of 1,200 horsepower. Maximum road speed is approximately 40 miles per hour with an operational range of 310 miles. The chassis is suspended on a helical spring suspension system.
As completed, the Namer can mount a 12.7mm Browning M2 heavy machine gun or a 40mm Mk 19 automatic, belt-fed grenade launcher. Additional armament includes use of a 7.62mm Fabrique-National FN MAG series General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) at the commander's cupola. There is also provision for a 60mm field mortar which provides an indirect, high-explosive "punch" against embedded targets. All weapons serve the role of support fire well, intended to suppress the enemy and assist in overtaking positions through calculated actions involving infantry. Regardless of armament, the crew can operate and reload the weapons at the RCWS from within the safety of the vehicle - the value inherent in a remote-controlled weapon installtion. Twelve smoke grenade dischargers (in two separate banks of six dischargers) are added to the rear hull sides for offensive and defensive screening.
While the reach of the Namer is limited at this time, it presents a promising new addition to frontline operational IFV-class vehicles. Some 800 units will eventually be procured should the program proceed as planned, replacing the outgoing breeds of APCs currently in service with the Israeli Army and in many ways standardizing and streamlining the Army inventory. Additionally, the Namer/Merkava IV chassis will undoubtedly spawn a slew of other battlefield-minded vehicles in the near future. Armament options for the RCWS will also be broadened after a several years of operational use - largely to suit growing Israeli Army requirements against a very particular brand of enemy and operating environment (mostly urban).
While there are no official foreign operators of the Namer, Azerbaijan is believed to be a possible first-candidate of the new vehicle.
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