The Israeli Ministry of Defense has announced the completion of the first round of Leopard 2 tank-installed TROPHY active protection system live tests.
According to the ministry’s brief statement on Twitter, Rafael and KMW (manufacturers of TROPHY and Leopard, respectively), demonstrated the system’s integration with the German tank and its capabilities in the live trial achieving 90 percent “threat interception success rate as well as providing accurate fire source location.”
17 Leopards to Be TROPHY-Equipped
The trials took place months after the Israeli and German defense ministries signed a government-to-government contract in February to equip 17 Leopard 2A7A1 tanks with the system. The contract includes interceptors, spare parts, and operational and technical training. The subsystems and training will be provided over several years, while the system integration process will be completed by 2023.
Rafael claims that the TROPHY, operational since 2011, is the world’s “only combat-proven APS,” developed to counter the growing threat posed by the new generation of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) capable of defeating “any” main battle tank (MBT) frontal armor. It also claims that no Trophy-fitted vehicle has suffered damage or crew injuries in the system’s over 1,000,000 operating hours spanning ten years.
TROPHY APS
According to the Israeli defense firm, the TROPHY APS “rapidly detects, classifies and engages all known chemical energy (CE) threats – including recoilless rifles, ATGMs, AT rockets, HEAT (high explosive) anti-tank rounds, and RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades).”
Once the target is located, the tank crew uses the Samson 30 remote weapon station to neutralize it.
The Trophy APS has been installed on the Israel Defense Forces’ Merkava MBT and armored personnel carrier “Namer.” It has also been supplied to four US Army Abrams MBT brigades. Meanwhile, the UK is assessing the system for integration with the Challenger 3 MBT.