United Press International,
A new Israeli-designed technology to protect armored military vehicles from rocket-propelled grenades was successfully tested in Virginia last week.
The Trophy Active Protection System developed by RAFAEL Armament Development Authority was put through live-fire tests conducted by weapons manufacturer General Dynamics Land Systems in Dahlgren, Va., last week, the ISRAEL21c Web site reported Sunday. The Trophy detected, tracked and knocked out an inert RPG fired at a moving Stryker armored car using a small rocket automatically launched from the vehicle, the report said.
'Our mission is not to discover the 100 percent solution, but to find the best solution that can meet warfighter needs today,' said Marine Corps Col. Wade Hall, in a General Dynamics news release after the test. 'Currently, the warfighters` only counter to the RPG threat is armor, more armor and more armor.
'As demonstrated … the Department of Defense now has at its disposal technology that allows U.S. Forces to defeat both the archer and the arrow.'
Didi Ben Yoash, Business Development Manager of RAFAEL`s Active Protection Systems division, told ISRAEL21c that the Trophy was developed as a result of the changing nature of urban conflict, as indicated by the U.S. military experience in Iraq.
'The whole concept of warfare has changed drastically. Traditional protection has been passive — which means armor. But armor has a number of deficiencies. For one, armor makes many vehicles too heavy,' Ben Yoash said. 'Moreover, armor doesn`t protect 360 degrees around the vehicle.'
'With conventional warfare, we knew more or less where the enemy was — which was right in front of you. With today`s low intensity conflicts, threats are coming from all around — from every direction, and we need the protection to be all around as well. To protect against weapons like the RPG, you need active protection, and the Trophy is a result of that,' he added.
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