The Trophy active protective system aboard a Leopard tank. (Rafael)
JERUSALEM — The Trophy active protection system will be used on new Leopard 2 tanks in Germany and Norway, according to Israel-based Rafael, part of the joint venture that will provide the platform.
That joint venture, EuroTrophy is based in Germany and was established in 2022 bringing together General Dynamics European Land Systems, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rafael. Rafael made the Trophy announcement in the leadup to DSEI, which begins in the UK next week.
“Trophy APS selected as the baseline APS of the new Leopard 2 A8 MBT configuration with first contracts awarded for Germany and Norway,” Rafael said in a statement. It noted that the decision was made by KNDS, which is a combination of Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and France’s Nexter Defense Systems. KNDS is the supplier that supports heavily armored vehicles, such as the Leopard. The Leopard has been made historically by KMW.
“With this achievement, Trophy has become the most successful active protection system integrated on Western Main Battle Tanks including Leopard 2, Abrams M1 and Merkava IV, as well as lighter platforms such as the Namer APC and other wheeled and tracked infantry fighting vehicles,” Rafael said. (In February 2021 Germany announced it would equip the Leopard 2 A7A1 version of the tank with Trophy. Those tanks are for the Bundeswehr and are intended to be fielded with the Very High Joint Readiness Task Force (VJTF). Trophy systems were delivered for the US Abrams tanks in 2020.)
“Furthermore, in May 2023, the Federal Acquisition Office of the German Armed Forces (BAAINBw) has signed a framework agreement with KMW for the delivery of up to 123 Leopard 2 in A8 standard configuration,” the company said. The Norwegian Defense Material Agency has commissioned KNDS to deliver 53 Leopard 2 A8 tanks with the Trophy system, according to Rafael.
Separately, the company also announced that it secured a £20 million ($25 million) contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) for Trophy. This contract is directly with Rafael in Israel, rather than EuroTrophy, and is for the next phase of using the system with the planned Challenger 3 main battle tanks. The Israeli company says it has now completed the second phase of integration with the British tank. It went through live fire tests in 2022, and the company says those tests “demonstrated the system’s effectiveness as it intercepted well over 90 [percent] of threats targeting the CR3 [Challenger 3] representative tank fitted with Trophy.”
“The collaboration with the UK MOD is set to continue, propelling further successes in the future, as the project heads towards its third and final phase of integration, instilling greater confidence in TROPHY’s ability to ensure fortified defence for the UK and its troops,” said Ran Gozali, Executive Vice President, and general manager Land & Naval Division at Rafael Advanced Defence Systems.
The announcements come as tanks supplied by the West to Ukraine continue to take fire. A British Challenger 2 was damaged recently according to a BBC report aired on September 5. The tanks sent to Ukraine have not been reported to have advanced active protection systems.
