Rafael and Leonardo have delivered first Trophy active protection system for US Army M1A2 Abrams tank.

Leonardo DRS, Inc. and RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. of Israel (RAFAEL)announced that the partners have delivered on time the first Trophy Active Protection Systems (APS) to defend the US Army’s M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks against a variety of anti-armor threats. This delivery marks the first of several that will ultimately outfit four brigades of tanks.

American M1A2 Abrams main battle tank fitted with Trophy active protection system. (Picture source Rafael)

Under contracts awarded last year on an urgent needs basis by the Army’s Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems, the companies are equipping front-line M1A2 Abrams tanks for both the U.S. Army and Marine Corps with their first APS systems. The deliveries are the culmination of a multi-year qualification process. A joint team of government and industry from both the U.S. and Israel worked together to adapt and integrate Trophy for both Army and Marine Corps Abrams variants.

“We are proud to deliver the first advanced defensive protection systems for our front-line tanks to give our warfighters a needed layer of survivability against real and emerging battlefield threats,” said William J. Lynn, CEO of Leonardo DRS. “Our partnership between Leonardo DRS and RAFAEL has worked tirelessly to bring this battle-proven technology to the U.S. military while improving the system to meet the stringent needs and requirements from the customer.”

Developed by RAFAEL in response to the ongoing proliferation of anti-armor threats, Trophyprovides mature, combat-proven protection against rocket and missile threats, while at the same time locating and reporting the origin of the hostile fire for immediate response.

RAFAEL CEO and President, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Yoav Har-Even said the delivery “marks a major milestone in U.S.-Israel cooperation. There is no greater pride and satisfaction than the knowledge that the technology developed by RAFAEL and ELTA over many years of investment, trials, and combat performance, will play an instrumental part in safeguarding American lives, just like it has saved Israeli lives and revolutionized the way our armored forces perform their missions. RAFAEL and Leonardo DRS are proud to deliver the first Trophy systems to US warfighters on time. We were tasked to meet challenging production timelines, an integration process and the most challenging test scenarios. I would like to thank our partners at Leonardo DRS for their support and I look forward to our continued cooperation.”

Trophy is the only fully integrated, combat-proven APS in the world. Since its first deployment in 2011, and currently installed on the IDF's MerkavaMk3 and Mk4 tanks and Namer APCs, Trophy has made numerous combat interceptions with no injuries to crews, dismounted troops or damage to platforms. Having undergone over 4000 successful field tests, Trophy has accrued over 500,000 operating hours, and is now under contract for serial production for thousands of systems.