The US Army has installed Israeli-made Rafael Trophy Active Protection Systems (APS) on its Abrams main battle tanks as it continues to assess APS’s on its combat vehicles.
Photographs from NATO’s Saber Strike 2018 military exercise, currently underway in Poland and the Baltic States, show Abrams M1A2 tanks fitted out with the Rafael Company’s Trophy system.
It also offers the crew an instant indication of where the enemy fire came from so the threat can be neutralized.
The system ensures protection against multiple simultaneous attacks from all sides.
Last year’s tests of Abrams tanks equipped with the Rafael Trophy APS proved the system’s high efficiency and the system has been put to hard test during this year’s Saber Strike drill.
The Rafael Trophy had earlier been installed on Israel’s Merkava main battle tank and the Namer armored vehicle.
Rafael has already been chosen to field Trophy on four brigades of Abrams tanks, and the US Army is analyzing two other systems on its Bradley and Stryker combat vehicles.
Militaries around the world have recently been taking a great deal of interest in active protection systems, which are seen as the most effective way of protecting tanks and other armored vehicles.
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All the more so now that Russia plans to equip its T-14 Armata tanks with the next generation Afganit active protection system.
Saber Strike is an annual international exercise held since 2010 by the United States Army Europe (USAREUR) focused on the Baltic States.
The exercise spans multiple locations in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and involves thousands of troops from 14 countries.