Beyond Survivability: How Active Protection Systems Are Empowering Commanders (Podcast)

Brought to you in partnership with Rafael

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Against the current backdrop of rapidly evolving threats, active protection systems (APS) not only boost survivability but also empower warfighters to complete their missions more effectively.

Indeed, attitudes towards the technology have evolved in recent years, notably due to lessons learned from the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, according to Gideon Weiss, Vice President of Business Development and Marketing at Rafael.

Weiss says APS are now considered a standard element of tank and armoured vehicle development, as reflected in the successful integration of Trophy onto the Boxer armoured personnel carrier (APC) by KNDS-Deutschland and EuroTrophy, the system’s European hub.

This reflects an evolving threat picture featuring not only rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and antitank guided missiles (ATGMs), but the rapid proliferation of drones. The very essence of protecting a main battle tank (MBT) or APC has changed, Weiss stressed, shifting from a focus on armour alone to the need for an APS.

“It is now almost unfathomable that governments or commanders would send their troops into the battlefield without an active protection system,” he observed, citing lessons from current conflicts.

Empowering the manoeuvre

The combat advantage APS delivers is personal for “Colonel B”, a former Israel Defense Forces commander (his name has been withheld for security reasons).

Now working in Rafael’s business development team, he shared his experiences of leading armoured units with and without APS in-theatre.

“History teaches us: if you want to win, you need to plant your flag on the hill or in the town centre,” he said. “That requires a fast and confident manoeuvre force. Trophy shifted the balance between threat and manoeuvre back in our favour.”

Colonel B described how early APS deployments gave units the confidence to maintain operational momentum even under fire.

“After the first, second, and third hits to your vehicle, you start to lose self-confidence. The manoeuvre would stop,” he said. “With Trophy, the commander gives the order to keep moving—instinctively. And if you keep moving, you break the enemy lines.”

He also noted the value of Trophy in high-risk rescue and medical scenarios: “You can bring an IFV equipped with Trophy to the front line and evacuate casualties under protection. That saves lives.”

Trophy is the only mature, operational APS on the market. Available since 2011, it can be integrated onto all vehicle classes, including tanks and APCs, wheeled and tracked platforms, 8x8s and beyond. It has been fitted on MBTs including the US Army’s M1 Abrams, Israel’s Merkava, the UK’s Challenger and Germany’s Leopard 2; as well as APCs such as Boxer and Israel’s Namer.

Trophy provides users with a wide range of capabilities, offering 360° protection and the ability to quickly detect, classify and engage threats. It can be integrated with the Samson 30mm remote weapon station (RWS) equipped with Spike ATGMs and can operate in conjunction with radar or electronic warfare systems in the area.

Protection is just one part of this equation, Weiss emphasised. Once an armoured vehicle has come under fire and survives the attack, it can continue to manoeuvre and complete its task. This means that “the APS is not just about survivability, but enabling the mission”.

This was echoed by Colonel B, who said Trophy not only defends the vehicle but enhances a unit’s ability to fight more aggressively and sustain momentum in complex environments.

“It becomes an offensive system,” he explained. “With Trophy connected to the battlefield management system, if one vehicle gets hit, another can eliminate the threat. That level of situational awareness transforms the entire battalion’s tempo.”

Availability and integration

Weiss noted that customers around the world are keen to utilise their existing or planned APCs and tanks without having to make extensive changes to embed Trophy. To support this need, the company prioritises availability and integration capability, he said.

He added that OEMs are increasingly factoring in APS compatibility from the start. “They can utilise the fleets that they have but also buy new tanks or new armoured vehicles that already have these capabilities,” Weiss said.

Colonel B reinforced this: “It’s become a standard: if you don’t have it, you cannot be in the front line.”

Weiss added that Rafael aims to utilise the existing capabilities of Trophy to address evolving threats, particularly when it comes to small drones.

A broader effort is also under way to make the countermeasures more robust, which may involve combining current technologies with other types of interceptors.

While he could not provide specific details, Weiss said this is a core focus for Rafael’s engineers and features prominently in its dialogue with the user community.

“They will be able to provide higher robustness for the evolving threats that could be met in the future battlefield, not just what we face today.” 

Learn more about how Trophy is reshaping survivability on today’s battlefield. 

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