Israeli Trophy Defense System Successfully Tested on German Tanks

The Israeli-developed TROPHY Active Protective System (APS) that was fitted on German Leopard 2 tanks earlier this year tested successfully, the Israeli and German Defense Ministries announced Tuesday.

The trials on the defense system were carried out by the German Ministry of Defense, in close cooperation with the Israeli Ministry of Defense and with the support of Rafael and the German company KMW, and included challenging scenarios for the platform.

In the series of experiments, the system displayed a 90% interception rate, as well as accurate detection of the source of the fire, thus proving the success of integrating the system on the German tanks.

In February, the two Ministries of Defense signed a deal that included the integration and supply of the active TROPHY defense system for the Leopard 2 tank.  The deal includes tank packaging, interceptors, spare parts, and operational and technical training. Under the agreement, the Ministry of Defense will supply the systems to the German Ministry of Defense in the coming years.

The Rafael-developed TROPHY, known as the “windbreaker” in Hebrew, creates a neutralization bubble around the combat vehicle by rapidly detecting and actively engaging all known chemical energy threats, including recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles, anti-tank rockets, HEAT tank rounds, and RPGs.

It can locate the fire source, enabling the crew to return fire effectively with the Samson 30 Remote Weapon System (RWS), or by interfacing with other fighting platforms through the control network.

The TROPHY is used on the IDF’s Merkava Mark 4 tanks and Namer APCs and was selected by the US Army to defend the Abrams tanks in 2017.

With over 500,000 operational hours, it is the only APS that has already saved lives. It proved very useful during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip.