Nazareth – The Israeli army will soon begin equipping its tanks with an advanced active protection system capable of countering the latest anti-tank missiles according to the Hebrew daily Ha’aretz on Monday.
The locally developed system known by its export name as Trophy will be installed on Merkava Mark IV tanks in response to the experience of the recent war in Lebanon the paper added.
It pointed out that the new defense system creates a “canopy” that surrounds the tank identifies the threat of the incoming anti-tank missile and destroys that missile’s warhead before it strikes.
It noted that the cost of installing the system on a single tank is estimated to be $200000-$300000 if a significant quantity is acquired.
While initially the system will be installed on tanks the possibility is being considered of also using the Trophy system on armored personnel carriers (APCs) the paper said adding that the United States is also considering the use of the Trophy on its Stryker fighting vehicles.
During the recent war in Lebanon Hezbollah’s anti-tank missiles damaged dozens of IOF tanks; others were totally destroyed.
