The Storm Mark 3 is meant as a vehicle for commanders. Photo: Itai Cohen, Bamahane

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After leaving the Automotive Industries Ltd. factory in Nazareth Illit, the Storm Mark 3 races down the road to the testing ground in the field. The production manager of the factory, Aharon Weinreb, has been living and breathing the Storm for years already. He knows every part of the jeep. Despite the fact that he has driven it successfully dozens of times, he admits that he is still impressed every time by the new model that came out half a year ago.

The sight of the Storm Mark 3 has become familiar in Nazareth Illit and its surroundings. The citizens of the northern town do not look up twice anymore. Experienced jeep drivers however, praise the new model. One of them is Dror Berly, a test driver and journalist for several Israeli newspapers and online magazines, who drove the Storm Mark 3 through the country for five days. "In my opinion, it's one of the best vehicles I drove," he declares. "I drove 1,400 km throughout the country in it. I don't know what sort of test drives they do in the army, but what we did with it hasn't been done in Israel with any vehicle."

The vehicle has in fact been vigorously tested by the Quality Testing Department in the Technology Brigade of the GOC Army Headquarters. Those tests were completed during the last few weeks, and today three of the vehicles are going to be tested by military drivers throughout December.  Among other things, the Storm Mark 3 was tested for its reactions in the field, endurance, navigability, air conditioning and engine cooling.

The love story between the Storm and the IDF began in the 1990s. The Storm is based on the Chrysler Jeep Wranger YJ. The first one of those vehicles entered service in the IDF in 1997. The later version Storm 2, which is based on the Wranger TJ, has been used by the IDF in the past few years.

Military versions of the Storm and the Storm Mark 2 only evolved after the vehicle had been developed for civilian use. The Storm Mark 3 on the other hand, which today is being constructed only in two factories  worldwide, in Egypt and in Israel, was developed from the beginning as a military vehicle.

The Storm Mark 3 has the same weight as the Storm Mark 2, but can carry 800 to 900 kilograms more than its predecessor. The most distinctive differences are: reinforced chassis, heavier axles, reinforced hooks, Diesel engine instead of gasoline engine, automatic gear and improved air filter. The fact that the jeep is automatic raises an interesting matter in its favor: "It eats up everything in the field," says Weinreb, "it doesn't have any issues."

"Most experienced jeep drivers like me prefer manual transmission gears," says Berly. "The Storm Mark 3 is meant as a vehicle for commanders. A young officer between the age of 20 and 22 will get everywhere with it, without a course. The problem is that most military drivers don't come with experience and it takes  maximum two years of driving for the manual gear to wear out. Automatic gears are a restriction, they're unreliable and need more fuel, but for an inexperienced driver it will make driving easier. The Storm Mark 3 has a strong gear, they thought a lot about it, and it works beautifully. It is the only jeep with an automatic gear that I would be ready to drive."