Trophy (also known as ASPRO-A. Israel Defense Forces designation – “Windbreaker”) is an active protection system (APS), designed to supplement the armor of both light and heavy armored fighting vehicles, which intercepts and destroys incoming missiles and rockets with a shotgun-like blast. Trophy is the product of a ten-year collaborative development project between the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aircraft Industries’ Elta Group.
The developers claim it is a major milestone in weapons design, being the second operational active protection system in the world after Russia’s Drozd and Arena.
In August 2009, following a series of tests, the IDF Ground Forces Command declared the Trophy operational. It is scheduled to be installed in an entire battalion of Israeli Armored Corps tanks by 2010.
Design
The system has been integrated onto Israeli Merkava main battle tanks in the Israeli Army. The design includes an F/G band fire-control radar with four flat-panel antennas mounted on the vehicle, with a 360-degree field of view. When a weapon is fired at the vehicle, the internal computer uses the signal from the incoming weapon and calculates an approach vector. Once the incoming weapon is fully classified, the computers calculate the optimal time and angle to fire the neutralizers. The response comes from two rotating launchers installed on the sides of the vehicle. The launchers fire the neutralizing agents, which are usually small metal pellets like buckshot. The system is designed to have a very small kill zone, so as not to endanger troops adjacent to the protected vehicle.
The system is designed to work against all types of anti-tank missiles and rockets, including handheld weapons such as rocket propelled grenades. The system can simultaneously engage several threats arriving from different directions, is effective on stationary or moving platforms, and is effective against both short and long-range threats. Newer versions of the system include a reload feature for multiple firings. The Trophy development roadmap includes an enhanced countermeasure unit to be available in the future for protection against kinetic energy penetrators.
Advantages
The primary role of Trophy is defense against missile strikes, particularly for lighter armored personnel carriers, which are very vulnerable to rocket attacks. Use of Trophy on the Stryker vehicle will remove the need for the heavy slat armor to defend against high explosive antitank (HEAT) warheads, and allow a ready battle-ready vehicle to fit into a C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft; Slat armor must be removed before the vehicle is loaded into the plane and reattached at the destination. This process in turn takes over 100 hours of cutting and welding, making it impractical under combat conditions. In addition, the newer, smaller size will improve the vehicle’s ability to negotiate urban areas.
