International Armoured Vehicles (IAV)
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is expected to trial its TROPHY active protection system (APS) on the LEOPARD 2 main battle tank (MBT) this year, an industry source has confirmed to MONCh.
While details are still scarce owing to sensitivities around the testing, it is understood that Rafael is working in conjunction with LEOPARD 2 manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann for the trials, which are expected to take place this year.
The details were disclosed at the International Armoured Vehicles (IAV) event in Twickenham, London, held on 22 January.
It is not known whether the testing is driven by a particular customer requirement, but it is a sign that Rafael is keen to prove that the increasingly popular APS technology can integrate onto one of the world’s most prolific main battle tanks.
TROPHY has already achieved success in both Israel and US. The US Army will soon equip every M1A2 in four armoured brigades with TROPHY after successful trials of the missile-defeating technology.
The integration of TROPHY onto the LEOPARD 2 will give operators additional choice of APS technologies for the platform. Rheinmetall Active Protection has already sold its Active Defence System to one undisclosed LEOPARD 2 customer. Both companies are also currently competing to provide an APS solution for the US Army’s STRYLER 8×8 fleet.
At this year’s IAV, Rafael also unveiled possible TROPHY configurations for the BOXER 8×8.
Grant Turnbull
