Tel Aviv. Detect, locate, intercept and kill – Israeli Rafael Advanced Defense System’s Electro Optical Sensor is loaded with these features, and the company has added an electro optical sensor to its Trophy protection system installed on Israeli, American tanks and soon to be installed on German tanks.
The electro optical sensor works in parallel to the radar system which is the main sensor of the Trophy.
According to Rafael the electro optical sensor shortens the reaction time and allows the tank crew to hit the enemy that launched an anti-tank weapon seconds after the weapon began its trajectory.
The new sensor will be offered to the US army that is using the Israeli protection systems.
Leonardo DRS, Inc. and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. of Israel (Rafael) have recently completed the delivery of Trophy Active Protection Systems (APS) ordered by the US Army for installation on Abrams main battle tanks. This marks a major milestone in the Army’s efforts to outfit multiple brigades of tanks with APS to protect soldiers’ lives against increasing anti-armor threats.
Under contracts awarded on an urgent need basis by the Army’s Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems, the companies delivered the first APS systems in September 2019 for both the US Army and Marine Corps. A joint team of government and industry from both the US and Israel worked together to adapt and integrate Trophy for the two services’ Abrams variants. This delivery culminates a multi-year effort by the Army to study and rapidly field active protection due to the urgency of the threat and the growing need for improved ground vehicle survivability.
Developed by Rafael in response to successful anti-armor attacks and the ongoing proliferation of those threats, Trophy APS provides mature, combat-proven protection against rockets and missiles while simultaneously locating and reporting the origin of the hostile fire for immediate response.
Trophy is the only fully integrated, combat-proven APS in the world. In addition to the US Abrams tanks, Trophy is currently installed on the Israel Defense Forces’ Merkava Main Battle Tanks and Namer APCs. It has made numerous combat interceptions with no injuries to crews, dismounted troops or damage to platforms since its first operational interception in 2011.
While Leonardo DRS and Rafael have completed these initial Trophy system deliveries to the US Army, the partnership is also under contract for additional support and development work for future US Abrams tanks. The US Army is also assessing the next generation “Trophy VPS,” a smaller, lighter, equally-capable variant of Trophy that will provide protection to a broader range of US ground combat vehicles.
Now Rafael will offer the new electro optical sensor as an upgrade to existing systems
The Israel Ministry of Defense and the German Federal Ministry of Defense signed a government-to-government agreement to supply Rafael’s TROPHY active protection system to the German military, for their fleet of LEOPARD 2 tanks. The program was led by the Directorate of Defense R&D (MAFAT), in the Ministry of Defense and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
Col. (Res.) Itsik Ronen was the commander of one of an IDF’s armored brigade. He told Shephard Media that the new EO sensor on the Trophy is a very dramatic upgrade “in todays battle field targets have very low signatures and they move fast. This enables them to stay safe. The EO sensor enables the tank to automatically detect and locate the target so that the tank’s weapons system can hit it very accurately. This is a major improvement that can be considered a game changer.”
-The writer is an International Roving Correspondent of the publication
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
