Germany procuring Rafael's Trophy defense system for its Leopard 2 tanks

Following the Israeli company's delivery of the system to the US Army, Germany decides to acquire the Trophy to protect its troops and assets from anti-armor attacks

Photo: Rafael

Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems announced Tuesday that Germany's Ministry of Defense has decided to equip the German military's Leopard 2 tank forces with Rafael's Trophy active protection system (APS).

Following the decision, which was made by Germany's defense procurement agency BAAINBw and approved by the federal parliament, Rafael was awarded a contract for an initial batch of Trophy systems, which includes a contract with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), the Leopard tank's original equipment manufacturer, entailing the provision of systems for a company of tanks, interceptors, and spare parts, as well as operational and technical training. The systems will be delivered over the next several years, Rafael said. 

It is expected that Germany will procure additional Trophy systems to equip most of its modern fleet of Leopard 2 tanks with APS capabilities.

Developed by Rafael in response to successful anti-armor attacks, the Trophy APS provides combat-proven protection against rocket and missile threats and simultaneously locates the origin of the hostile fire for immediate response. The Trophy system, the only fully-integrated, combat-proven APS in the world, has been installed on IDF Merkava tanks since 2010, as well as on Namer APCs. Trophy has made numerous combat interceptions with no injuries to crews or dismounted troops or damage to platforms since its first operational interception in 2011. Trophy has accrued over 1,000,000 operating hours, including 5,400 successful field tests, and is now under contract for serial production of over 1,800 systems, according to Rafael. 

In January, Rafael and partner DRS announced that they had completed the delivery of Trophy APS ordered by the U.S. Army for installation on Abrams main battle tanks, under contracts awarded on an urgent need basis by the Army’s Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems. 

Ran Gozali, Rafael's EVP and Head of the Land and Naval Division, said "Germany is joining an exclusive group of advanced tier-1 nations who have chosen Trophy APS to protect their troops and assets from the ever-increasing threat of anti-armor warfare. We are thankful to the German government for joining other user nations and for their confidence in our system and our experience, and we look forward to working with KMW on the integration and installation of Trophy on the Leopard 2 and on future platforms."  

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