Matthew Nelson
Leonardo DRS and Israeli defense technology company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems have delivered the last batch of active protection systems built for installation into the U.S. Army's Abrams battle tank fleet for enhanced ground vehicle survivability.
The Trophy APS is designed to help locate and report sources of hostile fire and protect warfighters against missile and rocket attacks, Leonardo DRS said Wednesday.
Under a multiyear effort, the partnership handed over to the U.S. Marine Corps and Army the initial batch of Trophy systems in September 2019, while a group of industry and government experts from both countries collaborated to carry out integration work for the military services' Abrams units.
"It has been an honor to deliver these advanced defensive protection systems for our front-line tanks to give our warfighters a needed layer of survivability against real and emerging battlefield threats," said Aaron Hankins, senior vice president and general manager of Leonardo DRS' land systems business.
The APS logged over 1M operating hours and underwent more than 5K field tests since its operational deployment in 2011. The partnership received a contract to manufacture 1.8K Trophy systems.
The Israeli military currently uses Trophy systems aboard Merkava battle tanks.
