Rafael to supply IDF with upgraded Trophy active protection system 

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems will start to supply the IDF with an upgraded and improved version of the Trophy active protection system (APS) for tanks and armored vehicles. The new feature of the upgraded system is an electro-optical sensor.   

Michael Lurie, vice president of Rafael, told Janes that that the new sensors boost the Trophy's performance in a number of parameters. The sensors that provide 360-degree defense of the tank or armored vehicle will be installed in Merkava Mk 4 tanks, Namer armored personnel carriers and in Trophy systems that are already in service in the IDF.

Rafael is checking with the US military whether it is interested in installing the new sensors in 400 Trophy systems that the US military acquired for Abrams tanks. Michael Lurie said that the Trophy system has undergone a number of upgrades since it saved a Merkava tank by intercepting an anti-tank missile fired at it more than ten years ago.  Among them are radar and onboard computer upgrades and annual software updates. 

Rafael is currently striving to provide the system with the capability to calculate coordinates of enemy locations and share them using a command-and-control system so performance can be improved in the most optimal manner. This will include combination with Rafael's Fire Weaver system intended to shorten sensor-to-shooter cycles.