U.S. Army Selects Israeli Iron Fist Active Protection System to Boost Bradley IFV Survivability.

Elbit Systems confirmed it has received a $228 million contract from General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems to supply its Iron Fist Active Protection System for the U.S. Army’s Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The award advances the Army’s push to improve armored vehicle survivability against modern anti-armor threats.

Elbit Systems Ltd. announced on January 26, 2026, that General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems has awarded the Israeli defense firm a $228 million contract to deliver its Iron Fist Active Protection System for the U.S. Army’s Bradley Fighting Vehicle fleet. The announcement follows a U.S. government disclosure on September 29, 2025, confirming GD-OTS as the prime contractor for the Bradley Active Protection System program, a move that set the stage for major subsystem awards tied to the vehicle’s ongoing survivability upgrades. Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

Iron Fist represents Elbit Systems’ second-generation hard-kill active protection solution, engineered to deliver high performance within tight size, weight, and power constraints (Picture source: US DoD)

Elbit’s confirmation brings clarity to a program that has been closely watched inside the U.S. Army as it seeks to reinforce its armored formations against increasingly lethal anti-armor weapons. Iron Fist is designed to defeat rocket propelled grenades and advanced anti tank guided missiles through a combination of radar and electro optical sensors linked to rapid reaction countermeasures. The system’s relatively low weight and compact footprint have been repeatedly cited by U.S. officials as decisive advantages for integration on the Bradley, a platform with limited growth margins but enduring operational relevance.

From a technical standpoint, Iron Fist represents Elbit Systems’ second-generation hard-kill active protection solution, engineered to deliver high performance within tight size, weight, and power constraints. The system provides full 360-degree hemispherical coverage and is designed to intercept a broad spectrum of threats, ranging from anti-tank rockets and anti-tank guided missiles to unmanned aerial systems, loitering munitions, and kinetic-energy armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot rounds. Its architecture allows effective operation in both open terrain and dense urban environments, a factor that has become increasingly important as armored units face multidomain threats from above and from close range in confined battle spaces.

The primary operational role of Iron Fist is to defeat incoming threats before they strike the vehicle’s armor, preserving crew survivability and combat effectiveness in situations where passive armor alone is no longer sufficient. Recent conflicts have demonstrated that even heavily armored vehicles are increasingly vulnerable to top-attack missiles, tandem warheads, and massed anti-armor fires employed by both regular forces and irregular fighters. Active protection systems such as Iron Fist fundamentally change this dynamic by adding a reactive defensive layer that detects, tracks, and neutralizes threats within milliseconds, often before the crew is aware an attack has been launched.

For the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the need for active protection has become especially acute. The platform was designed in an era when the density, precision, and variety of anti-armor weapons were far more limited. Today’s battlefield, shaped by lessons from Ukraine and the Middle East, is saturated with man-portable guided missiles, inexpensive drones adapted for strike missions, and loitering munitions that can attack from unexpected angles. Without an APS, the Bradley’s survivability increasingly depends on tactical positioning and supporting fires alone. Iron Fist restores a measure of technological overmatch by allowing the vehicle to operate closer to the fight, support dismounted infantry more effectively, and survive repeated engagements in high-threat environments.

The contract, which will be executed over a three-year period, positions Iron Fist as a core survivability component for a fleet that continues to deploy globally despite its Cold War origins. Although Elbit did not disclose unit quantities, industry sources familiar with the program indicate that the award supports phased production aligned with Bradley reset and upgrade cycles. This approach allows the Army to incorporate APS kits without disrupting ongoing readiness requirements or forcing large scale structural modifications to the vehicle.

Testing conducted during earlier evaluation phases reportedly demonstrated that Iron Fist could be integrated while preserving turret balance, power availability, and crew ergonomics. Those results addressed longstanding Army concerns that APS solutions could impose unacceptable penalties on mobility or maintenance. A U.S. Army acquisition official, speaking on background due to contracting sensitivities, described the selection as a pragmatic choice that balances protection, integration risk, and near term availability.

The Bradley Fighting Vehicle remains the backbone of U.S. mechanized infantry formations, and commanders have increasingly warned that the proliferation of modern anti tank weapons among both state and non state actors has narrowed the platform’s survivability margin. Fielding an effective APS is therefore viewed as a bridge capability until the Army’s future optionally manned fighting vehicle enters service in meaningful numbers.

From an industrial perspective, the 228 million dollar award underscores the maturity of the partnership between GD-OTS and Elbit Systems, which has spent years aligning Iron Fist with U.S. military standards and integration requirements. Analysts see the contract as evidence that the Army’s previously uneven APS modernization effort is now translating into tangible production decisions, with implications for how quickly survivability upgrades can be delivered across armored brigade combat teams.

If integration and acceptance testing proceeds as planned, the first production Iron Fist systems could be fielded to operational units within the contract’s three year window. Such a timeline would mark a significant step in restoring overmatch for U.S. mechanized forces, reinforcing the Bradley’s ability to survive on battlefields increasingly defined by precision-guided anti-armor threats.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay is a graduate of a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience in the study of conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests lie in security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.