Active vehicle protection comes to the forefront as Trophy and Iron Fist secure contracts
Trophy is shown here fitted to a Leopard tank with radars on the turret to left and right of the barrel. (Photo: Rafael)
Experience on the battlefield is accelerating the adoption of active protection systems as technologies continue to evolve to reflect shifting global defence needs.
Active protection systems to defend large vehicles and main battle tanks (MBTs) first appeared as Russian systems in the late 1970s and 1980s, before truly coming to the forefront of technology through Israeli efforts in the 2000s.
The majority are modular and agnostically designed to allow them to be bolted on, federated or integrated, with two Israeli systems – Rafael Armaments Development Authority’s Trophy and Elbit Systems Iron Fist – proving particularly popular.
The Rafael system is sold through EuroTrophy, a joint venture with General Dynamics Europe Land Systems, which along with Iron Fist has announced contracts in the past
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