Full-Scale Evaluation on M1 ABRAMS this Year

In late March, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman announced they have completed initial integration for the US Army’s Modular Active Protection System (MAPS). Full systems demonstrations and the evaluation process are due to start later this year, with the system mounted on an M1 ABRAMS.

The Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) awarded demonstrator contracts to both companies in 2015, with Lockheed Martin leveraging the capabilities of its Open Architecture Processor and Northrop Grumman exploiting its expertise in sensor and countermeasures systems to prover the functionality of an open architecture solution for MAPS.

Active protection system components based on MAPS can be independently developed and rapidly integrated, saving time, reducing costs and helping to ensure assets can be protected from ever-evolving threats. A soft-kill capability enables the active protection system to confuse an incoming sensor-based weapon system through spoofing, interference or obscuration, resulting in the elimination of the threat.

“Successful integration of the existing Northrop Grumman Passive Infrared Cueing Sensor (PICS) and Multifunction Electro-Optic System countermeasure (MEOS) within the MAPS framework demonstrates the value of the open architecture construct,” Arlene Camp, VP of surveillance and targeting sensors at Northrop Grumman, commented.