The
system thwarted the missile without any casualties on the
IDF's side. “The soldiers were not even sure an anti-tank
missile had been fired at them,” explained an IDF
officer in the Armored Corps now involved in the investigation
of the incident to IDF Website. He made it clear that the
system operated automatically and thwarted the attempt to
injure IDF soldiers. Shortly after the event, terrorists
were spotted in the area and IDF forces fired, confirming
a hit.
The
soldiers involved in the incident belong to Battalion 9
of Brigade 401 and had trained with the system for the first
time only three months ago upon the completion of its implementation.
During the exercise, held in the Golan Heights, the soldiers
practiced a scenario depicting an emergency situation in
the North.
“The
system will significantly reduce the anti-tank injuries
in the next confrontation,” explained Commander of
Division 162, Brig. Gen. Agay Yechezkel, who made it clear
that the integration of the system will continue.
“By
the end of next year we will have largely integrated the
system.” Even Col. Enav Shalev, Commander of Brigade
401, noted that currently, thanks to the system’s
success, “the calculated risk we can take during operational
missions has been increased, because the squad and tank
are more secure.”
The
Trophy system, the fruit of a collaborative effort between
Rafael Advanced Defense System Ltd., Elta Group and the
US’s General Dynamics, identifies various incoming
threats directed at a tank, including anti-tank missiles,
by means of special radars and sensors, firing back at the
incoming threat. This active protection system enables the
tank’s crew to contend with dangers they don’t
always foresee.
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