“I tried to kill the Abrams tank 48 times and failed”, stated US Army Col. Glenn Dean
after evaluation drills.
This what the addition of the Trophy Active Protection System has done for Abram tanks - it
has made the tanks much more survivable and it is being integrated into all the tanks.
As per the U.S Army statement, in January, it has received the last units of the Trophy
Active Protection System (APS) for its M1
Abrams main battle tanks from the Israeli company Rafael and the US-based Leonardo DRS.
According to a US Army statement released, the companies had started the deliveries
in September 2019 under contracts awarded on an urgent basis by the Army’s Program
Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems for both Army and the Marine Corps.
This will give Abrams a much-needed defense in environments that are getting tougher for MBTs.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes how the Israeli Trophy
Active Protection System will shield American M1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks?
Let's get into the details.
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Israel Defense Forces or IDF has been exposed to different challenges over the years
and it has derived lessons from the experiences.
IDF understood that it needed more than just strong armor
to fend off attacks on its tanks and other vehicles.
A 'Hard Kill' approach was conceptualized.
Trophy is an active protection system (APS) designed to protect vehicles from ATGMs,
RPGs, anti-tank rockets, and tank HEAT rounds. A small number of explosively formed projectiles
destroy incoming threats before they hit the vehicle.
It is essentially designed to supplement the armor of light
and heavily armored fighting vehicles. It is developed by Rafael Advanced
Defense Systems Ltd. of Israel and 1,000 systems have been fielded to
all major Israeli ground combat platforms which include Merkava Mark 3 & 4 and Namer APCs.
Trophy's design includes the Elta EL/M-2133 F/G band fire-control radar
with four flat-panel antennas mounted on the vehicle, with a 360-degree field of view.
The radar is responsible for searching, detecting, classifying, locating, and reporting potential
threats to the vehicle's onboard computer network and beyond to the tactical network,
creating a Hostile Fire Detection (HFD) capability.
When a projectile is detected,
the internal computer calculates an approach vector before the projectile arrives.
Once the incoming weapon is classified, the computers calculate the optimal time
and angle to fire the counter-measures. The response comes from two rotating launchers
installed on the sides of the vehicle which fire a very small number of MEFPs
(Multiple Explosive Formed Penetrators) which form a very tight, precise matrix,
aimed at a specific point on the anti-tank projectile's warhead. The system is designed to
have a very small kill zone so that it does not endanger personnel near the protected vehicle.
The Trophy APS doesn’t just ‘kill’ the incoming target, it also detects the
location from where the projectile was fired to enable the vehicle crew to engage the threat.
If Trophy identifies that the threat is going to miss the platform,
it will not activate the countermeasure but will provide the shooter location,
enabling instantaneous engagement by the combat team, preventing further attacks.
As per some reports, a joint team of Israeli and American experts
worked to integrate the system on the M1 Abrams
“It has been an honor to deliver these advanced defensive protection systems
for our front-line tanks to give our warfighters a needed layer
of survivability against real and emerging battlefield threats”, said Aaron Hankins,
senior vice president, and general manager of the Leonardo DRS Land Systems business unit.
He added, “Together with our Rafael partners, we
worked tirelessly to ensure we met our customers’ needs while delivering ahead of schedule,
and we look forward to supporting them with APS in the future,”
On March 1, 2011, stationed near the Gaza border, a Merkava MK IV equipped with the Trophy system
foiled a missile attack aimed toward it and became the first
operational success of the Trophy active defense system.
The system has seen further utilization during the 2014 Gaza war
also known as Operation Protective Edge.
No tanks were damaged during this operation with the Trophy Active Protection system performing
over a dozen interceptions of anti-tank weapons including Kornet, Metis and RPG-29.
The system, by identifying the source of fire,
on occasion also allowed tanks to kill the Hamas anti-tank team.
Giora Katz, head of Rafael's land division, stated that it was a
"breakthrough because it is the first time in military history
where an active defense system has proven itself in intense fighting."
It was stated that during the war, Trophy validated itself in dozens of events,
protecting tanks and crews over three weeks of high-threat maneuvering operations in
built-up areas without a single hit to defended platforms and zero false alarms.
As per reports, since 2011, the system has achieved 100% success
in all low and high-intensity combat events, in diversified terrain (urban, open, and foliage).
This is incredible statistics. There is no system in Trophy's
class that has been used so extensively in real battles.
Russian T-14 Armata tank features the Afghanit active protection system (APS), which includes
a millimeter-wavelength radar to detect, track, and intercept incoming anti-tank munitions,
both kinetic energy penetrators and tandem-charges. But it yet to be proven.
Israel has been very good in developing
interception system - another example is 'Iron Dome'
9 Iron Dome systems participated in Israel’s 2014 Operation Protective Edge. They intercepted
a combination of 735 rocket and mortar shells which was 92% of those engaged.
Iron Dome also has been acquired by the U.S and these acquisitions
indicate that U.S -Israeli partnership in military technology is getting increasingly strong.