With the delivery of the last TROPHY Active Protection System (APS) at the end of 2020, the equipment for four Armoured Brigade Combat Teams (ABCT) of the US Army and the US Marine Corps has been completed. In 2018, the US Army ordered the TROPHY APS from Leonardo DRS and Rafael for a total of 336 ABRAMS Main Battle Tanks (MBT) for the equivalent of more than €400M. Deliveries began in September 2019 and a complementary contract worth almost €160M was concluded for operational support.
TROPHY monitors the battlefield with radar sensors, detects approaching projectiles and classifies them. Detected threats are tracked and the optimal engagement point is determined. The crew is warned and the incoming projectile is neutralised with a Multiple Explosively Formed Projectile (MEFP) before the threat imperils the platform and its crew. The defence spectrum includes anti-tank missiles, rockets and High Energy Anti-Tank (HEAT) projectiles, including short-range and hand-held weapons such as Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG).
Israel has been using the TROPHY on its MERKAVA IV MBTs for about ten years and on its NAMER Infantry Fighting Vehicles for five. Rafael points to 5,000 successful deployments and more than one million hours of operation for the TROPHY with the Israel Defence Forces.
The Bundeswehr announced in early 2019 that it would order the TROPHY to equip 17 LEOPARD 2 A7 MBTs to be deployed with the NATO spearhead VJTF 2023. There is no word on the progress of this however and delivery would have to start this year to give the troops enough time to train on the APS.
TROPHY APS For M1 ABRAMS Delivered - European Security & Defence
The final TROPHY Active Protection Systems have been delivered in order to be fitted to the M1 ABRAMS MBTs of the US Army and Marines.
euro-sd.com