Trophy APS tested on LAV III armoured vehicle

The Trophy Active Protection System (APS) by DRS and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems has completed a live fire testing programme on the General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) LAV III armoured vehicle.

Trophy was selected following an international tender process as part of GDLS’ strategic initiative to demonstrate next generation anti-armour survivability technologies for its combat vehicle fleets.

DRS and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems worked closely with GDLS on the ten-month integration and live fire testing programme, performing the detailed mechanical, electrical, and electronic systems design integration and installation of the Trophy system on the LAV III without degrading the original performance level of the vehicle.

Following a series of mobility trials to stress the APS integration on the vehicle, the system underwent a comprehensive, 3-month live fire test regimen at a Canadian test range against multiple rocket-propelled grenade variants, recoilless rifle, and anti-tank guided missiles. These tests were performed in various challenging engagement scenarios - including short range, moving vehicle, multiple threats, and high clutter environments. 

Joseph Matteoni, vice president/general manager, DRS Sustainment Systems, said: ‘The successful performance of Trophy during the test programme, coupled with the robustness of the vehicle integration design, demonstrates that Active Protection technology - and the Trophy system in particular - is both effective and mature. We owe it to our troops to do the utmost to avoid another 'IED-like' surprise on the next battlefield.’

Trophy has already been fielded to tank units of the Israel Defense Forces. The system is capable of defeating the full spectrum of direct fire, anti-armour rockets, missiles, and tank-fired high-explosive rounds. The system works by rapidly detecting and tracking an incoming threat, classifying it, computing the optimal intercept point in space, and, if necessary, neutralising it away from the platform. Additionally, the system reduces the probability of collateral injury in the vehicle vicinity to below one percent.

Trophy also calculates the location of the shooter, alerts the crew for immediate action, and reports the engagement to the battle management network for situational awareness across the formation.