Diesel Engineering to supply Israel with engines for personnel carriers

Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Diesel Engineering Inc. has been awarded a contract to provide engines and transmission kits for the Achzarit heavy armored personnel carriers for the Israeli Defense Forces.

The Department of Defense on Friday announced the $10.4 million contract, which falls under the terms of a firm-fixed-price contract.

A caveat to the deal provides for one option, which if exercised, would potentially raise the overall total of the contract to more than $10.5 million.

Different engine variants for the Achzarit heavy armored personnel carrier provide varying levels of overall horsepower. The Achzarit Mk-1 engine has 650-horsepower, while the second generation engine, the Mk-2, has 850-horsepower.

The personnel carrier is equipped with three 7.62 mm machine guns, with one of the weapon systems connected to a Rafael Overhead Weapons Stationed, which allows for the machine gun to be fired from inside the vehicle without exposing the soldier.

Work on the contract will occur in Detroit, Mich., and Prague, Czech Republic, and is expected to be completed by December 2019.

More than $10.4 million from the U.S. government's foreign military financing fund will be obligated to Diesel at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.