And while design features of the new FMCV will depend on operational requirements now wending up the approval chain, military officers said the new vehicles are likely to be wheeled, agile and nearly half the weight of the 65-ton Merkava Mk4. “We don’t yet have an operational requirement, but our people are looking ahead and trying to anticipate future needs,” an Army general officer said. “We’re probably going to need a defended, quick, armored platform that can maneuver decisively in an urban environment and bring sufficient numbers of people and equipment to built-up areas. ... For that, we may not need a tank in the traditional sense,” the officer, a participant in the effort, told Defense News. Sources here insist the FMCVs will not replace 65-ton Merkava Mk4s or Namer heavy troop carriers, which will continue to be built through 2020 and remain in service for decades to come. Rather, the envisioned 35-ton FMCV variants will be integrated with heavy armor into the same digitized command-and-control network, providing war planners with more options that can be tailored to specific scenarios for maneuvering warfare. “It won’t be Merkava-5. The operational requirement will be something entirely different,” another officer said.Read the entire article but that vehicle sounds like a fully digitized Stryker Double Vee Hull.
Funny thing is that the Israeli's tested the Stryker and rejected it. Now they suddenly see a need for a wheeled IFV to fight in urban terrain? It really doesn't make sense but we'll see. Something has changed. Perhaps war gaming a fight in the disputed territories show a need for wheels or maybe these are for internal security. Time will tell but this bears watching.