

There are a number of APS products on the market, but a highly mature system currently being tested by the Army is the TROPHY™ system. They are designed to cast a protective field around the vehicle through which RPGs and guided missiles cannot penetrate, while adding no substantial weight to the vehicle. APS automatically detect and neutralize incoming threat projectiles before they reach a target. Active Protection Systems (APS) are one such advanced protection technology the U.S. “Advanced protection,” defined broadly as next-generation systems that automatically defend against enemy threats without burdening a vehicle with excessive heavy armor or a commander with limited options, is now one of the Army’s top modernization priorities. Army has an urgent need to equip armored vehicles with advanced protective technologies more capable than just passive armor. The Russian military threatens Eastern Europe with sophisticated anti-armor capabilities that are also now in the hands of militants in Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Sinai, Gaza and many countries in Africa and Asia. Modern, lethal threats like the tandem-warhead RPG-29 and powerful anti-tank guided missiles like the Russian Kornet and Chinese HJ-8 have proliferated to current and potential future combat zones where they pose serious threats to U.S. ground forces fight next, their vehicles and crews may be in the crosshairs of modern anti-tank weapons that armor cannot guard against without adding unacceptable tonnage that would lead to a reduction in mobility.
