Trophy APS (ASPRO-A)
Type: defense_system
Domain: land
Country of Origin: Israel
Manufacturer: Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
First Deployed: 2011
Overview
The world's first combat-proven hard-kill active protection system for armoured vehicles, developed by Rafael under the name "Windbreaker" (Me'il Ruach). Trophy uses four flat-panel AESA radar arrays for 360-degree threat detection, tracking incoming projectiles (ATGMs, RPGs, HEAT rounds) and calculating interception solutions in milliseconds. When a threat is confirmed, a countermeasure device fires a focused blast of explosively formed penetrators that destroy the incoming projectile at a safe distance from the vehicle. The system discriminates between threats and non-threats (e.g., small arms) to avoid unnecessary activations. Reload time between interceptions is seconds. Trophy has achieved hundreds of confirmed combat interceptions on Merkava Mk4 tanks and Namer APCs in IDF operations with near-perfect effectiveness. The US Army adopted Trophy for the M1A2 SEPv2 Abrams (the first US tank with APS), and the German Bundeswehr selected it for the Leopard 2. Represents a paradigm shift in armoured vehicle survivability.
Technical Specifications
| type | Hard-Kill Active Protection System |
|---|---|
| detection | ELM-2133 flat-panel radar (360°) |
| adopted_by | Israel, USA (M1A2 SEPv3), Germany (Leopard 2) |
| manufacturer | Rafael (Israel) |
| reaction_time | Milliseconds |
| countermeasure | Explosively formed penetrator (EFP) interceptor |
Operators
- Israel
- United States
- Germany
Related land Weapon Systems
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- Leclerc - Main Battle Tank (Germany)
- PT-91 Twardy - Main Battle Tank (Poland)
- BMP-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle - Infantry Fighting Vehicle (Russia)
- T-62M Main Battle Tank - Main Battle Tank (Russia)
- BTR-4 Bucephalus - Wheeled Armored Vehicle (Ukraine)
- Puma IFV - Infantry Fighting Vehicle (Germany)
- Challenger 2 - Main Battle Tank (United Kingdom)
- TAM VCTP Infantry Fighting Vehicle - ifv (Argentina)
- VBCI - armored_vehicle (Germany)