Lighter Trophy APS variant to be trialled on Challenger 3 main battle tank.

24 June 2021

 

Challenger 2 upgrade 

 

Rafael's Trophy Active Protection System (APS) has been selected for the next phase of detailed assessment and integration for the Army's Challenger 3 MBT.

The selection is a result of a study conducted by the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) as part of an upgrade programme led by prime contractor Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL), which will entail detailed integration and system trials of the lighter Trophy variant (Trophy MV), to fit the particular requirements of this vehicle.

The Black Night Challenger 2, which was BAE Systems' original Mark 2 demonstrator for the Challenger 2 Life Enhancement Programme, featured an Iron Fist  APS (Active Protection System) from Israel Military Industries mounted at the front and the rear of the turret.

Developed by Rafael in response to successful anti-armour attacks, the Trophy APS provides mature, combat-proven protection against rocket and missile threats and simultaneously locates the origin of the hostile fire for immediate response.

Trophy has been installed on Israel Defense Forces’ Merkava tanks since 2010, and was also installed on the Namer APCs. It has also been supplied to four US Army Abrams MBT brigades, and will soon be supplied to Germany for its Leopard MBTs.

 

Trophy APS saves lives

Trophy has made numerous combat interceptions with no reported injuries to crews or dismounted troops or damage to platforms since its first operational interception in 2011. Rafael says Trophy has accrued over 1,000,000 operating hours, including 5,400 successful field tests, and is now under contract for serial production of over 1,800 systems.

Brig. Gen (Ret.) Michael Lurie, head of Rafael's land manoeuvrability systems directorate:  "Trophy APS has saved the lives of numerous soldiers and has been instrumental in protecting assets on the battlefield and enabling tank crews to manoeuvre safely under anti-tank fire and perform their missions safely and fully.”

“This system has changed the rules of the game in the armoured warfare arena, and the UK's decision to choose Trophy for the protection of its crews, ushers in a new era for its armoured forces as well. We are thankful to our UK partners for joining other nations and tier-1 armoured corps who have put their trust in Rafael's Trophy APS."

APS are being fitted to tanks and other armoured vehicles to protect against a growing range of anti-tank threats and to address a capability gap. Outside of Israel's Merkava tanks, the next generation Russian tank, the T-14 Armata, was among the first to feature a built-in APS.