During combat, armoured fighting vehicles (AFV) not only encounter gunshots and grenades but also missiles from all the angels and every possible direction.
These missiles are no ordinary weapons of choice. These are sophisticated, highly lethal and advanced guided missiles which can easily destroy a battle tank’s armour and make it vulnerable on the battlegrounds.
In 2006, during a war against Hezbollah, Israel lost numerous tanks and resources. The attacks were made by anti-tank missiles which made Israel think of a new and better way to protect their tanks.
Hence to tackle these advanced threats, the Trophy Active Protection System was deployed for the protection of AFVs. Trophy protects the vehicle from all sorts of anti-tank threats. But its mission doesn’t end here. The trophy also maximises the vehicle’s capacity to get the location of the enemy and hence also maximises the chances of survival of the crew.
The Trophy is the product of the two systems working together –The radar built by IAI (Israel Aircraft Industries) which detects threats and the high-end system designed by Rafael, which destroys all the incoming threats. The biggest advantage of this defence system is that it eliminates the need for adding an armour plating, which could easily increase the weight of the tank and interfere in its mobility.
Israel, in March 2005 introduced Trophy for the AFV and the defence system was ready to go through a series of tests. In the year 2009, Trophy was officially adopted by the Israel Defence Forces and was installed in all the armoured vehicles by 2010. The Trophy system has successfully intercepted multiple anti-tank threats during combat on multiple occasions and has saved the lives of hundreds of crew members.
But how does this defence system works?
Trophy Active Protection System creates a bubble around the AFV, the main purpose of which is to neutralise any anti-tank threat. The system keeps on detecting and engages chemical energy threats. As the lethality of the anti-tank threat increases, the lethality of the bubble also increases, resulting in neutralization of the enemy’s weapons.
Some of the key features of Trophy Active Protection System are as follows:
1. Detection of the location of the fire source – This feature helps the crew to strike back effectively.
2. Protection of the crew.
3. Can be adopted by tracked as well as wheeled IFVs.
4. Compatible with Samson 30 RWS.
Since a long time, the biggest weakness of the tanks were not the enemy’s tanks, but the anti-tank threats like grenades, RPGs and guided missiles. Advancements in the protection of AFVs was the need of the hour and Israel Defence knew exactly what had to be done. Today, the advantages of the Trophy active protection system has been recognised by the other countries. While the US has acquired it to enhance the lives of its combat tanks, many more countries are trying hard to get their hands on it. According to the reports, the estimated cost of arming a single battle tank is $300,000. Needless to say, this cost will automatically go up when exported to other countries.
