Testing the Trophy tank defense system - with people in the tank!

Well, talk about having faith in your product. Yesterday, a few tank commanders climbed in to the tank during a live-fire test of the (quite awesome) Trophy tank defense system. Sure the missile had an inert warhead, but even so, those guys sure have quite a brass pair. (via Israel Matzav)

In an unusual military training exercise, an anti-tank missile was fired at a Merkava Mark 4 tank being operated by soldiers in order to test the Trophy (Meil Ruach) active tank defense system, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense System Ltd. and intended to intercept and destroy aerial threats. The experiment was carried out with kinetic missiles without warheads, which simulate the missile's path and do not pose a threat to soldiers. Commander of the Armored Corps' 401st Brigade. Col. Einav Shalev himself will take part in the exercise, sitting in the tank with Commander of the 9th Armored Battalion, Lt. Col. Itai Berin.

The Trophy, the fruit of a joint labor effort between Rafael, Elta and the American company General Dynamics, uses special radars and sensors to identify various threats directed at the tank such as anti-tank missiles, and launches a special explosive to neutralize them. This active defense system makes it possible to contend with dangers which are sometimes undetected by the crew inside the tank.
...
"Both the battalion commander and I held our breath when the missile was shot during the demonstration," Col. Shalev said during an interview with Army Radio. He added that, "This is an excellent and reliable system tested in every situation, and we intend to provide soldiers entering the Gaza Strip with it and even those entering Lebanon if required." Lt. Col. Itai Berin, 9th Armored Battalion Commander was the commander during the exercise, added that "after a two month integration process, the battalion will be the first to take part in the demonstration on the tank."

Col. Shalev told his soldiers that in wartime there is no perfectly safe solution. "In the third Lebanon war, if it happens, we will see there is nothing that can protect us completely," he said. "What we have left to do is to teach our soldiers exercises and techniques so that they will know how to cope in times of war."

Boy, what great commanders. They don't just tell their soldiers to go out there and fight, they proved they are doing their utmost to protect them, and while not foolproof, their defenses are the best this country can offer.


Expensive pitching machine? High-tech tennis ball launcher?

Doubletapper has a great overview of this technology in a previous post (here). The Trophy system is quite revolutionary and has been in development for a number of years. It first uses passive defense (electronic jamming), and then active defense to knock down (not detonate) any type of incoming projectile, from RPGs, to high velocity kinetic weapons. This active defense system looks a lot like a soup can launcher, and is not sexy until you see it at work. Then it's really hot.

While there's no video of the actual live test, here's a nice new marketing video of the Trophy system:








تنسيق-الكليات-لعام سكس نيك كس

Search for related posts